Married by Circumstance - Bamon AU
by damnbamon
Summary: When ballerina Bonnie and dance critic Damon are shoved into an arranged marriage by their complicated and famous families, will they crash, burn or perhaps something else entirely? - Bamon AH AU.
1. 21st Birthday and Mr Handsy

_**Chapter 1** \- 21st Birthday and Mr. Handsy _

**4 Months Ago**

The amount of heat in the club radiated off the walls like in a thick steam. The strobe lights only made it more difficult to see and Bonnie was having a hard time maneuvering as it was... The music filled her ears with a heavy bass and she spun around when her arm was grabbed.

"There you are!" Caroline beamed at her, holding two large colorful drinks her hands.

"There I am? I've literally been standing in this general vicinity for 10 minutes." Bonnie rolled her eyes and cross her arms over her chest.

The blonde tilted her head to the side and handed her one of the drinks.

"Come on, let yourself have fun!" Caroline chuckled.

Bonnie took a sip of the overly fruity drink and brushed her shoulder shoulder length dark hair behind one of her shoulders.

"This just isn't my scene, Care. You know that." she leaned against the bar counter.

"It's not mine either, but it's your 21st birthday. At least mingle, you're single and sexy as hell." Caroline smiled and reached forward to fix the collar on Bonnie's velveteen peter pan collar shirt.

Bonnie bit her lower lip and sighed, then smiled and raised her drink up a little.

"You know what, you're right. I'll attempt to have fun at the very least."

"At the very least." Care replied and clinked her glass with hers.

Bonnie chuckled, "It does make up for the past few weeks of class."

"Ugh, yes. Ms. Bayes is working us like crazy!" Caroline exasperated.

"She hates us though, I was supposed to be the lead in the upcoming but... that didn't happen." Bonnie rolled her eyes and took a drink from her glass.

"Well, we knew what we were getting into when we decided ballet was our thing." The blonde commented.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "But, did we really?"

Caroline laughed and shook her head, downing the rest her drink and setting it on the bar.

Bonnie had been going to Whitmore College of Ballet & Ballet Company for the last 3 years, before that she was a half credit transfer to the college from High-School, Senior year, and before that she was part of the Mystic Falls Ballet School, which wasn't nearly as important.

She'd met Caroline Freshman year of Whitmore and they'd been best friends ever since, well not counting the several weeks they fought over the lead in the second year Spring show.

"Come on, let's dance." Caroline waited for Bonnie to down her drink, which made her throat burn a little and then dragged her through the crowd of people onto the dance floor.

Although, it was impossible to tell where the dance floor actually started and where people thought it started.

The beat of the music along with jumping, swaying bodies, sent a vibration through Bonnie's body as she inhaled and started to move her hips along to the music.

As a dancer it was easy to take things way to seriously, while everyone else was dancing like... well, normal people dance, Bonnie was paying to much attention to the angles of her feet, where her arms were, which way her hips were pointing.

"Woo!" Caroline screamed, hopping around, letting go easier than Bonnie was.

The slight buzz from what had only been Bonnie's second drink, started to set in and her hips loosened up, the people behind and to the sides of her moved in closer.

Bodies were grinding against each other, and she didn't care that she didn't know any of the people around her.

That is until someone backed into her so hard she went tumbling through a couple of people and when she looked around she couldn't find Caroline.

"Great." Bonnie huffed, wiping the sweat from her forehead and looking through the crowd again.

When she still couldn't see who was who, she made her way out of the crowd as best as possible and over to one of the more empty corners of the club.

Inhaling deeply she stopped near of the rounded booths and leaned her butt against the table.  
Bonnie pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans and pulled up Caroline's chathead.

 **Bonnie:** _Ready to leave, tbh. Can't find you._

She stared at the chat for several moments waiting for an answer, but Caroline hadn't even read the message yet.

"Incase you didn't notice, this both is occupied."

The male voice that came behind her gave her a startle and she gasped a little, turning around.

"Oh, sorry." Bonnie sighed, looking through the dim lights that hung above the booth.

The man sitting in the booth alone, had dark thick hair, several strands of it hanging over to touch his forehead.

"I just, lost my friend..." she continued when he didn't speak.

As the man turned his head to look away from her, she could see his jawline was... beyond sharp and covered with a very thin stubble. He was, attractive to say the least but dark haired, quiet guy in a night club wasn't exactly a good sign.

"You're still here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and Bonnie chuckled a little.

"Unfortunately so." she replied and he licked his lower lip a little.

"Mind if I sit?" Bonnie asked him.

"Yes." he replied but she had already moved to sit down in the booth about a foot and a half to the side of him.

The man sighed, and she could smell the alchol on his breath. It was hard to tell with the lightning but he looked about 24 maybe 25 years old.

"You might as well have a drink." he said, sounding as bored as one could sound in a club filled with dancing people.

Bonnie eyed the half drank glass of bourbon he had slid over to her.

"I don't know if I want to take a half drank drink from a stranger." she raised an eyebrow.

The man turned his head to look at her, his blue eyes, so bright that despite being a hazy from alcohol and whatever demon he was dealing with, shone through the dimness.

The place between Bonnie's legs tingled a little and she reached onto the table to tap her fingers along the side of the glass.

"You sat down in my booth, so I think you're already taking chances." he said pursing his lips.

Bonnie nodded a little, grabbed the glass and downed the bourbon quickly, which she instantly regretted.

"Oh..." she coughed a little as she set the glass down.

"Yeah, that's a sipping bourbon." he replied, taking the glass, grabbing the bottle from the middle of the table and pouring more in it.

"Says you." she chuckled, watching him shot the bourbon just as quickly as she had but not react in the same way.

"I'm used to it." he insisted, pouring more, and sliding the glass over her.

Bonnie grabbed the glass, "And, who say's I'm not?" she asked, downing it gain and still coughing.

"That does." the man chuckled, smiling for the first time since she'd met him.

"Okay, you're right..." she cleared throat and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm a little buzzed." Bonnie continued, scooting closer to him and grabbing the bottle to pour more.

"What's your name?" the man asked, and she slid the half full glass to him.

"None of your concern." she replied watching him down it and she grabbed the glass, pouring more and downing it herself, this time it stung a little less.

"You're drinking some expensive bourbon, the least you could do is tell me your name." the man said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm probably not going to remember you tomorrow, so what's it matter?" Bonnie smiled, and then hiccuped.

"You're light weight." he smiled and poured more, drinking it and setting the glass down.

"I'm not light.. light weight, I am f-fairly buzzed, that's all." Bonnie insisted, and grabbed the bottle, drinking straight out of it this time until her chest started to burn.

Moving the bottle from her lips, she inhaled deeply to catch her breath.

"Mhm." the man said drunkenly, and she suddenly felt his hand on her thigh.

"Woah, hey. Not that buzzed, handsy." Bonnie chuckled and pulled away from him, feeling kind of sick from the alcohol already.

"Bonnie! There you are!" Caroline huffed as she stopped at the table brushing her hair out of her face.

"I've been here, where were you." Bonnie laughed, as Caroline pulled her out of the booth.

"You're ready to go?" Care asked.

"I am.. so.. ready to go. I w-was ready ten hours.. minutes.. ago." she giggled, and Caroline smiled amused.

"Holy shit, you're smashed." Caroline looked around her at the man who wiggled his fingers, smiling drunkenly.

"Okay, yeah, let's get you out of here before the handsome man offers you the key to his hotel room." she whispered and Bonnie was struggling to stay standing.

"Okay..." Bonnie smiled and turned to look at the man in the booth.

"Buhbye, Handsy, t-thanks for the drinks." she said with a smile.

"Bye light weight." the man replied.

Caroline put one arm around Bonnie's waist and started through the club with her.

"Happy 21st birthday indeed." she chuckled, looking over at Bonnie who smiled and shrugged.


	2. 2am Troubles and Ms Light Weight

**A/N:** This chapter is similar to the previous chapter, except it is detailing Damon's version of it and important details leading up to the club scene. The first two chapterS are the only two chapters that will be repeats but in different character POV's. This is for information purposes.

 _ **Chapter 2 –**_ _2am Troubles and Ms. Light Weight._

 **4 Months Ago**

Damon should have known something was off when he walked into the house that evening only to find not only his mother, but his father and younger brother standing in the foyer.

It was unusual for all of his immediate family to be in the same house at once during the day, much less at midnight on a Saturday.

Running a hand through his dark hair he pulled his suit jacket off and handed it to the butler, Mr. Wayne.

"What's this about?" he asked, stepping to the side of his family.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to be back hours ago." Lily, his mother asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Damon chuckled, "I told you, I was on a date with Melanie."

"We know... We figured you'd be home before the next day started to tell us the news." Giuseppe, his father smiled a little as Damon's younger brother Stefan stood beside him.

"Oh." he blinked, not realizing his family had found out about his plans for that night.

He had been intending to propose to Melanie.

"So?" Stefan asked with a smile and Damon bit his lower lip.

"The proposal didn't happen." he told them and Lily blinked.

"What do you mean it didn't happen? Did she have to rain check? Did you forget the ring?" Lily asked, her red hair straight around her face.

Damon cleared his throat, "No, we broke up."

"Oh, no, she broke up with you?"

"No, we mutually decided that we hate each other." he chuckled, not even in the least bit sad about the break up.

"So? You couldn't just propose anyway?" Giuseppe asked and Damon scoffed.

"What? Marry someone who hates me? Sure, I could ask, but she'd never agree to it." he rolled his eyes, sticking his hands in his pants pockets.

"She was the soul heiress to her fathers estate, she's one of the most known dancers in New York." Lily exclaimed, clearly upset.

Damon sighed, "Look, I know, you want me to marry so our family will climb higher. Which, I don't understand, although, I will respect your vigor... But, it just wasn't going to work with Melanie."

He walked over to the stair case and leaned against the bannister.

"I don't know what you expect me to do."

Giuseppe clenched his jaw a little and inhaled, in an attempt to calm himself.

"Stefan, Lily, Mr. Wayne, please leave the foyer." he told them and they all nodded, walking away, although Lily was more hesitant.

"Damon, I don't think I've gotten it through to you good enough..." his father started taking several steps further.

"You're a Salvatore, the Salvatore's marry what's best for the family. We don't marry someone because of their... nice personality."

Damon took a breath and pulled his hands from his pockets.

"You've made it clear you want me to marry. It's sort of difficult, when the women could care less."

Giuseppe nodded a little, "That's why I've been thinking. It'll be easier to do this, if it's completely arranged."

"You'd already been arranging. That's how I started dating Melanie."

"I mean, arranged marriage. No dating, no proposal, just married." his father told him and he blinked.

"You actually think that will work? You're willing to just marry your son off to a stranger?" Damon asked, seriously.

"Yes, and.. yes. Son, you have two choices, marry the woman I find or walk away from this family, the company."

The choices his father were giving him were, honestly the most fair choices Damon had gotten in his entire life.

He'd known for a long time, who he married would most likely not be someone he loved. But, he thought he'd at least get to meet them before the wedding.

"Damnit, father... Do you enjoy controlling my life?" Damon asked, shoving himself away from the stairs.

"It's part of our life. I'm giving you a choice." he relied and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fine, go find some entitled ballerina's daughter, or pop stars cousin to marry me. Do whatever you need to do. It's all temporary anyway, right?" he sighed, his head hurting.

He didn't even give his father time to reply before he headed out of the front door with his car keys in his right hand.

His parents had married for the same reason they wanted him to marry. It was different though, his parents loved each other, for some damned reason they'd found something good in their arranged marriage.

But, the truth of the matter was arranged marriages in his world were almost always temporary. You got married for the publicity, to get people off your back, for the added money and then 5, 6 years later you got divorced for the very same reasons.

Damon knew he could just back out, but he'd his entire life... 24 almost 25 years, growing and becoming who he was. His family didn't just own a dance company, and they weren't just dance critics, they were well.. family. His father was an ass sometimes, and his mother was over bearing but, that's just how it was.

"It's just business. It's how it is." he spoke to himself quietly as he was driving down the road, not sure exactly where he was going, just that he needed a drink.

It was kind of his thing... being serious about the business, the family business, yet at the same time resenting being born into such drama.

Maybe 24 years of money, parties, plays, shows, more plays and more shows and more interviews after interviews had made him a little numb to his own feelings, how things worked in the normal people world...

But the truth was, he wasn't normal, this wasn't the normal people world. In his world, he needed to marry, so he would marry. There was no ifs or buts unless he wanted to be ripped from the only life he knew.

"Damnit, Salvatore, just relax." Damon mumbled looking around on the strip until he saw a club, the parking lot only semi filled.

As he walked into the club, he looked slightly out of place in his black dress shirt, dress pants and shoes. But, with the dim lights, mixed in with the strobe lights on the dance floor, it was kind of hard to tell anyone from anyone else in the front of the club.

Damon walked over to the bar, pulling his wallet from his pocket.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked with a smile.

"Bottle of your oldest bourbon." he told the man and gave him his credit card to swipe quickly.

"Here you, sir." the bartender handed him his card back, the bottle a small glass.

Damon nodded, putting his wallet back and walking through some people to the far side of the club and sliding into an empty round booth. Sitting underneath the dim light, he did his best to tune the music out.

Inhaling, he opened the bottle, poured a glass and down the first one, the second one he sipped slowly and set the empty glass down.

It was God knows how long before he finally took another drink; maybe an hour.

He just sat there, looking at the seating across from him as more and more people poured in, girls screamed excitedly, dancing.

By the time he even felt remotely buzzed, the club was buzzing and steamy. Tapping his fingers on the bottle, he pulled his phone from his pocket to look at the time.

It was nearly 2AM.

"I should be getting home soon." he mumbled to himself, but them decided it didn't matter.

He wasn't in a good mood anyway and all his family would have most likely left the house anyway.  
Damon was the only who really stayed there. He didn't understand the point of having the huge house, if the family had their own places in the same damned state.

As he looked up, suddenly he watched a slightly confused looking, brown skipped girl lean against his table, facing away from him.

He just looked at her, in her red velvet shirt and jeans for a second, feeling unamused as she typed on her phone.

"Incase you didn't notice, this booth is occupied." Damon said, watching the woman jump a little startled and turn around to face him.

"Oh, sorry." she spoke, her shoulder length hair was wavy around her face.

Damon just looked at her, waiting for her to walk away or anything but just stand there.

"I just, lost my friend." she told him, her lips squishing together a little.

He turned his head to look in front of him again and felt her eyes on him.

Maybe if he wasn't in a bad mood, he'd have been a little nicer. But, then again, most the girls who spoke to him wanted something... Money, a rewrite of the critic he'd given them...

After a few moment's he turned his head back to see she was still there.

"You're still here?" he raised an eyebrow, taking in her face more now. It was round, but her jawline and cheek bones were a strange gentle sort of sharp that complimented her.

"Unfortunately so." she replied and Damon licked his lower lip a little.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked when he didn't say anything.

Damon cursed internally, "Yes." he stated but she went ahead and sat down anyways, causing him to sigh.

"You might as well have a drink." he told her, sliding the half a glass of bourbon over to her and watching her eye it.

"I don't know if I want to to take a half drank drink from a stranger." she told him.

Damon looked at her full on, trying to figure out the color of her eyes, which he realized were green.

Green had never been a color he enjoyed, but her iris's were oddly pleasing.

"You sat down in my booth, so I think you're already taking chances."

After he said this, he watched as she grabbed the glass, and down the drink like it was a jello shot, starting to cough after wards.

"Oh." she mumbled, setting the glass down.

"Yeah, that's a sipping bourbon." Damon told her, taking the bottle and pouring some in the glass.

"Say's you." the woman chuckled as he down the drink with no problem.

He poured more, then slid the glass over to her, "I'm used to it."

"And, who say's I'm not?"

Damon watched the woman down the drink again, coughing again.

"That does." he replied, his lips turning up at the corners as he laughed a bit.

Whoever this woman was, she was certainly entertaining to his buzzed self.

"Okay, you're right." she ran a hand through her hair as she cleared her throat.

"I'm a little buzzed." she added, scooting closer to him and pouring more.

"What's your name?" Damon asked her, taking the glass she'd slid over to him and downing it.

"None of your concern," the woman replied, taking the glass quickly, pouring more and downing it herself, it seemed to go down easier this time.

Damon rolled his eyes, "You're drinking some expensive bourbon, the least you could do is tell me your name."

"I'm probably not going to remember you tomorrow, so what's it matter?" she asked, smiling and hiccuped.

"You're light weight." he teased her, drinking more himself.

He was starting to get past buzzed, but no were near as drunk as her. His mood however, was increasing positively and the attractive women next to him wasn't losing any of her appeal.

"I'm not light... light weight. I'm f-fairly buzzed is all." she insisted, taking the bottle and drinking straight from it until she had to stop and gasp for air.

"Mhm." Damon said slowly, moving one of his hands from the table and placing it on her warm thigh.

"Woah, hey, not that buzzed handsy." she laughed and scooted away from him.

Suddenly a blond girl came over, apparently a friend of the woman he'd been drinking with.

He was feeling pretty mellow and didn't hear much of the conversation but, he did hear her say something about getting her friend out of there before the handsome man, meaning him, gave her the key to his apartment.

If only she'd known he didn't have an apartment, just an estate.

"Buhbye, Handsy. t-thanks for the drinks." the woman smiled at him drunkenly.

"Bye light weight." he replied and watched as she was pulled away.

This night might have been shitty but, at least by the time he got home, he'd been too drunk to care. One thing he hoped he didn't forget was the humor of the woman he'd shared his bottle with...


	3. A Sudden Arrangement

_**Chapter 3 –**_ _A Sudden Arrangement_

 **Present Day**

"En Pointe!"

"I said, en pointe not floppy bird, Joseph!"

"Oh, for pete's sake, Talia... No."

Bonnie stood en pointe beside Caroline, the room lined with men and women just trying to get through the day. Ms. Bayes was driving everyone insane, and not to mention it was a Saturday. Everyone knew ballet was a every day of the week sort of thing, but Saturdays were supposed to be their rest day. Even if they did come in to practice, it wasn't supposed to be this intense...

"You'd think after 3 years, Joseph would have given up already." Caroline mumbled.

Bonnie chuckled a little and shifted her feet.

"It's 8 in the morning, we're all a little off." she instisted.

They were only doing warm ups before running through scene's of the upcoming Christmas show.

"Arabesque." Ms. Bayes directed and they all slowly moved one of their legs off the floor, and behind them in a straight line.

"Foot down, and again." she told them and they all did it again, everyone dressed in leggings and tank tops, giving the day a slightly casual feel.

"Alright, to the barre."

Everyone relaxed and walked over to the several wooden horizontal bars towards the sides of the room.  
"Position." Ms. Bayes said.

"I didn't even have coffee." Bonnie whispered and rubbed her forehead before getting in position.

"Parallel Plie, ten count."

As they started to do the exercise, Ms. Bayes walked over to grab her water from one of the small tables by the door.

"If we're lucky, we won't be here too long." James, the guy beside her said with a chuckle.

"I love ballet, but, she wore us out yesterday enough as it is." she replied and Caroline scoffed.

"She's been wearing us out for 3 years, we had best love it." she smiled.

"First position, plie and releve." they heard from behind them and switched positions.

Bonnie's feet hadn't felt good for the last 4 years, although she doubted anyone's did.  
Foot care was an important part of ballet, unless you wanted your feet to fall off completely.

"Again."

"Now, arabesque en demi-pointe with swan arms."

Twenty minutes later and they were finally done with exercises, running through the music and Bonnie stood on the side waiting for her scene cue.

"Juliana isn't here, so Bonnie please fill in for her in the pas de deux." Ms. Bayes told her and she smiled, knowing she was just filling in but, maybe if she did well in the practice Bayes would change her mind.

Practice had done rather well, although intense. By the time it was over, both Bonnie and Caroline were starving and it was 3 in the afternoon.

"Ugh, I need food and to not get up until Monday." Bonnie groaned as they got into her car, setting their bags in the back seat.

"If we don't get called in by surprise tomorrow." Caroline chuckled and stretched her legs out in front of her as much as possible.

"If she does call, we never saw it." she replied and her lips turned upwards a little.

Ballet was something they'd both been so passionate about for so long, but it was tiring, and sometimes you just wanted a break.

"Agreed." Care replied as they pulled out onto the road.

The rain was pouring down, as it had been for a few days, the road were slightly flooded and traffic was lighter than usual thankfully.

"So, I know you and James went on that date the other day... It went well you said, but you haven't planned another?" Caroline asked her and Bonnie pursed her lips.

"No..." she replied and kept her eyes on the road.

"No?" her friend asked with a chuckle.

"I may have... bent the truth about the date." Bonnie admitted and was suddenly hit in the arm.

"Ouch!" she furrowed her brow and reached over to hit Caroline in the side of he face as best as possible.

"Tell me..." Care turned in her seat.

"The date went okay, I'm just not that into James." Bonnie said slowly, turning down another road.

"Why?"

She sighed and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

"He's...annoying. I mean, sure he has a sense of humor and he's not ugly, but something about his personality I can't shake. Just bugs me. And, he's kind of like a puppy, I felt like I was leading him everywhere." Bonnie said honestly, reaching up to pull her hair out of the bun it was In.

Caroline nodded, "Okay, I get that."

"What about Matt, how's he?" she asked, trying to steer off the subject of her own love life.

"He's good, apparently, still calls me every night, unless I'm at practice or he's at work." Care replied with a smile.

"That's great, I'm happy for you guys. Keeping up the relationship even after the move." Bonnie smiled back at her.

"Yeah, it's difficult but, he had to move for work. There just wasn't anything for him around here." the girl frowned.

"Mystic Falls is kind of more for the elite, so it Whitmore. I don't blame him." she chuckled as they crossed into Mystic Falls and the rain started to let up.

Caroline nodded, "Sometimes I feel a little less hopeful but, he's a good guy so."

"It'll work out." Bonnie finished her sentence and several moments later they pulled into the driveway of Bonnie's house.

It wasn't technically her house, but hers and her fathers.

The house was a two story townhouse, that was probably too big then they even needed, but neither of them had been the one to choose the house.

"Okay, let's get inside so we can order some pizza." she chuckled and the two women hurried out of the car and through the rain.

Once they got inside the house, they kicked off their sneakers, having left their bags in the car.

"Ughhhh, home!" Caroline laughed.

"This might as well be your home, you're always here." Bonnie teased her.

"True... When does your dad get back from tour anyway?" she asked and Bonnie answered while walking towards the living room.

"Oh, I don't even know at this point. He's always on tour."

Caroline nodded, "I know that's hard for you."

"Not so much anymore, I mean... Sure I miss him, but he's been part of the band for years and I'm an adult now. I can handle things." Bonnie shrugged and pulled a Dominoes pizza coupon menu sheet out of a drawer on the kitchen island.

"It's cool that your dads pretty famous though." she smiled and leaned against the counter.

"Really? You still think that even after we get bombarded by photographers whenever we go to a special event?" Bonnie asked playfully and pulled up the dial pad on her cellphone.

Caroline shrugged, "At least when he's on tour it isn't so bad."

Bonnie smiled and put the phone to her ear waiting for someone to pick up and asked what she wanted.

"Hi, It's Bonnie, I'll have my usual, but add in some lava cakes." she said and waited for the conformation that they'd charged her card beore hanging up.

"Alright, twenty minutes at the most as usual." Bonnie stretched her arms above her head before heading for the living room

As she walked, she pulled her leggings and tank top off and tossed them behind her not caring and stood there half naked for a second, stretching and looking around for where she put her robe.

"Maybe it's good James didn't work out. I think you should date someone more..." Caroline searched for the word while Bonnie pulled her cotton robe on.

"Famous?" Bonnie asked while chuckling and sitting on the suede couch.

"Yes, possibly that." the blond smiled and took off her own leggings and tank top, grabbing her robe she'd left there that morning.

Caroline had her own apartment, but when you could stay everyday with your best friend, why not? They loved staying with each other and while sometimes needed a break, it was easier for both of them to just stay at Bonnie's anyway.

"Does it bother you that, I see you as kind of famous, and this big person?" Caroline asked after she sat down.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "No, not at all. I mean, I get it. I don't act like I have money, or a famous dad, but I do have those things. If I was in your place, I'd probably see me the same way, I guess."

"I'm not jealous or anything, just, we have different home lives. You're rich, with a dad in a band and got into Whitmore just by walking into the school. I'm...well off money wise, although not as much, with a cop mom and Whitmore almost didn't take me." Caroline chuckled.

Bonnie smiled, "Yet, here we are, best friends."

"Forever, hopefully." Care smiled back and scooted closer to her.

"Definitely... My ego would get too big if I didn't have you around." she winked and stretched her feet out in front of her.

Finally the pizza was there and after tipping the driver, they were vegged back out on the couch with no plates, just the box resting on one of each of their knee's.

"We're going to have to do 3miles to burn this pizza off." Caroline chuckled with some cheese hanging from her lips.

"Burn it off? Please, I'll just tell Ms. Bayes to screw off if she doesn't like my shape." Bonnie smirked as she took a drink from a glass of coke.

Caroline nodded, "Yeah...the other day, Talia told me she hadn't eaten in two days, so I got her some snacks from the vending machine on the 3rd floor."

"It's brutual, even if you're brave enough to tell the ballet mistress, master, that you're not going to push yourself to lose as much weight as possible, it could lose your place in the company." Bonnie frowned.

"Yup, it's messed up. Whitmore is a fair chance school though, so even if a teacher doesn't like how much you weigh, they can't kick you out unless you're bad at dancing." Caroline sighed.

"Ms. Bayes just wishes she had my ass." Bonnie said biting into some crust and Caroline started laughing.

"She does though. You're hot and she knows it. I wish I had your ass... and hips." Care smirked.

Bonnie smiled and once they had eaten as much pizza as they could, they grabbed the lava cakes and plastic forks.

"It's kind of great though. Human beings of any size, race, age, can be dancers. Years ago and they'd laugh if either one of us walked in the door.

"Yup... I'm black and short, you're short and... well, you used to be off balance." Bonnie chuckled.

Caroline nodded, "Just being short, used to be a dis-qualifier. Kind of like modeling."

"Just being black used to be a dis-qualifier." she shook her head and Caroline rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the world and leaned her head against Bonnie's shoulder.

"How far the world as come." Bonnie said taking a bite of her cake.

"How far it still needs to go." Caroline chuckled.

"Preach." she smiled and felt her phone vibrating in her robe pocket.

"Hmm." Bonnie mumbled when she pulled out her phone and saw that her dad was calling in a group call along with Kate, the families manager.

"I should get this." she stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen so the sound of the TV that was on wouldn't be too loud.

She took her coke with her and leaned against the island, taking a sip and putting the phone up to her ear after accepting the call.

"Hey dad, hey Kate." Bonnie said tapping here foot casually.

"Hi, honey." her dad said, and instantly she knew something was weird.

It wasn't unusual for her dad to pet name her but, 'honey' was his special, 'something's up' pet name for her.

"Hello, Bonnie." Kate said next and Bonnie pursed her lips.

"What's going on?" she asked, a little worried but figured if it was something really serious, the police or hospital would have called her.

"Rudy has been given an offer, which is technically also your offer, so we called to talk to you about it." Kate said, and Bonnie waited for her to continue.

"I would much rather be talking about this in person but... you know." her dad said and she could hear him sigh on the other end.

"Is it bad, or?" Bonnie asked, a little confused, if it was a good offer, why would her dad be sighing.

"No, it's not bad. Your father just, is worried you won't like it." Kate admitted.

"Okay, well, just tell me." she said slowly, Caroline was watching her from the couch.

"You've been given an offer for an arranged marriage, Bonnie." Kate told her and her heart kind of did a twist and she almost didn't process that.

"Wait, what? An arranged marriage offer?" Bonnie asked, blinking and Caroline hopped off the couch and ran over stand next to her as soon as she heard that.

"Giuseppe Salvatore, of the Salvatore Ballet Company, and Salvatore dance critic, called me with an offer for you to marry his son." Kate out explained.

"Wait, seriously? How long ago? Dad?" Bonnie asked, waiting for him to speak up.

"He talked to Kate a week ago, I found out about it several days ago." her dad replied and her eyes went wide.

"Then why am I just hearing about it now? If I'm the one who gets to decide on it, why wasn't I called?" she asked, a little upset.

"It's a custom, he called me and I told your dad, your dad is now calling you." Kate said.

"No, he's calling me with you as back up, or maybe it's the other way around... Why did you call me about this a few days ago, if you knew about it then?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow.

"Well, Mr. Salvatore and I needed to talk about the financial and social aspect of the possible marriage. We wanted to be prepared, so if you agree to it, it can be as soon as possible." Rudy replied and she swallowed.

Arranged marriage? It was common, this she knew and Talia's husband was arranged for her several years before but Bonnie had never even thought about someone wanting to marry her off to their son.

When she thought about it though, it did make sense, the Salvatore's were a well known and loved company, as well as ballet critics. Bonnie's father was the lead singer in a popular band and she was the ballerina daughter of a ballet legend who disappeared, Abigail Bennett. It was a good match, money wise, social wise and even class wise.

"I... I don't know what you expect me to say, you call me and drop this huge decision on me." Bonnie sighed, knowing it was a good offer, but not an easy one.

"You don't have to accept it, you can say no right now and Kate will call Salvatore and let him know." Rudy said slowly, but she could tell he was really interested in this offer.

It'd bring more money to both of them, more publicity and not to mention the amount of interview offers they'd get.

"I'll think about it..." she said slowly, looking at the floor.

"Thank you, Bonnie... I know it's a big choice, but it wouldn't be forever." her father said to her and she inhaled, trying to clear her head.

"I need an answer by tonight, so the wedding can be put together tomorrow." Kate informed her and she coughed.

"Wait, tomorrow? Are you serious? That means you won't be there, right dad?" Bonnie asked, feeling light headed.

"I'm afraid not. But, I'm there in spirit and I'll come visit you like always when I have a break in the tour." her father said to her and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"I'll think about it, and let you know." she said and hung up without waiting for either of them to say anything.

Caroline, who had been listening as best as she could, heart racing, confused, raised her eyebrows.

"What? I heard arranged marriage." she asked, stepping closer.

Bonnie pulled her robe tighter around herself.

"Apparently, I've been given an offer to marry one of the Salvatore sons." she replied biting her lower lip.

"Like, Salvatore Ballet? That Salvatore?" Care asked.

"Yes." she said slowly, trying to think.

"I didn't even know he had sons old enough to marry, they're really secretive."Caroline mumbled.

Bonnie sighed, "I knew they had sons, but I don't pay attention to media unless it's about my dad. I've never liked drama."

Caroline nodded, "Do you even know which one you're marrying? How old he is? His name?"

"I should've asked that. Look them up." Bonnie told her and Caroline grabbed her phone looking the Salvatore family up and clicking on their family tree.

"Okay, two sons. Stefan and Damon. Stefan is 20, Damon is 24." she replied.

"It could be either of them." Bonnie pursed her lips.

"Do you want to see their photos?" Caroline asked and she shook her head.

"No, it'll just make it harder to decide." she said grabbing her phone and clearing the web page before she could see anything.

Caroline chuckled, "Oh, come on. Your future husband has a Wikipedia page, there are probably hundreds of teen girls reading it everyday imaging what it'd be like to marry him."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and walked back over to sit on the couch, Caroline following her.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to make light of the situation." Care's lips turned downward and she wrapped her arm around Bonnie's shoulder.

"It's okay, I'm just not sure what to do." Bonnie sighed.

"Well, if you don't mind me giving you my opinion..." Caroline started and Bonnie nodded.

"Go ahead." she waved.

"You're young, and there are so many arranged marriages in the celebrity world. Like, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "There has been no proof their marriage is arranged.

"Okay, but you know it is, don't try and pretend you don't." Caroline smiled a little.

"...and they are always temporary. Worst case scenario, you marry a Salvatore, double, triple your net worth, gain more publicity, divorce after a few years. Which, in reality is also the best case."

Bonnie nodded, "I see your point. The chances of me finding real love, and marrying within the next few years are slim anyway. If I marry now, divorce in a few years, I'll still be young and have a chance to find real love while also upping my game."

Caroline rubbed her back, "I know that, love is important, it's important to most people, and one day you will marry someone you love. But, maybe you shouldn't pass up this offer."

"Maybe I shouldn't." Bonnie agreed, biting her lower lip.

"But, you do whatever you want, I will support you either way." Care assured her.

Bonnie inhaled, trying to make sure that going through with this would be a good idea. It was nerve wracking to think about marrying a man she didn't even know, living in a different house for the most part, having to pretend when at parties, in public. But, at the same time, it was exciting; being given such a serious offer. Her, Bonnie Bennett, could possibly be Bonnie Salvatore.

 _Yes, Bonnie Salvatore.  
_  
That sounded exciting.

"I'll do it, I'll marry into the Salvatore family." Bonnie said quickly and blinked.

Caroline smiled, "Really?"

"Yes, I'll become Bonnie Salvatore." she said with a small smile, her heart racing.

Yes, that was definitely a excitingly scary sentence...

* * *

 **The Next Day**

The church in Fairfax was buzzing, but not with other people's voices or even their energy, but Bonnie's over nervousness was practically gushing out of her ears.

"You're ten minutes late!" Kate said as she rushed over to Bonnie and Caroline who had just walked in the front doors.

Bonnie wasn't sure how anyone got a wedding ready in one day, but she was positive she wasn't going to know anyone there.

A photographer to the left of her snapped a photo and Kate turned around to glare a him.

"Hey! No photographs of the bride until she's walking down the isle."

Bonnie inhaled, running a hand through her slightly damp hair and bit her lip.

"Caroline, I'm at church I've never heard of, about to get married, in front of people I don't know, to someone I don't know." she said once the photographer was gone.

"It's okay, come on we need to finish getting you ready." Caroline said, walking her down one of the hallways until they came to a door that said 'BRIDE' on it.

Caroline set her bag down and closed he door behind her.

"Okay, we have fifteen minutes to get your hair and makeup done, and you dress properly."

Bonnie's fingers were twitching and she looked across the room and saw a black dry cleaning bag hanging along a tall mirror.

Walking over, she unzipped it to reveal a long satin mermaid wedding gown with a jewel bodice neckline and she swallowed.

"Oh, it's nice." Caroline said walking over with several combs and a hair dryer.

"It's mermaid, that's my least favorite style." Bonnie sighed and put a hand on her forehead.

Caroline frowned a little, "I'm sure they did their best in one day, were lucky it's even in your size."

Bonnie nodded, "Okay, you're right. This isn't even my only wedding, I'll get married again, someday, and it won't be planned in one day." she inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself.

"Let's get you in in it, and then do everything else." Caroline said setting the stuff down and pulling the dress out of the bag.

"Ugh, there's a train." Bonnie groaned a little at the 3 foot long train along the bottom.

"Shh." Caroline patted her head and chuckled.

"It's okay." she continued and helped Bonnie get undressed and into the dress.

"No looking at yourself until everything is done." Care insisted as she zipped her up and sat her down in a chair facing away from the mirror.

"You're such a good friend." Bonnie said softly.

"You're a good friend too you know." Caroline replied and started to do her hair, turning the blow dryer on, setting the curling rod to heat up.

10 minutes later and Bonnie only had a few minutes before she needed to go stand near the doors of the chapel. Her makeup was done, her hair was done and she stood facing away from the mirror.

"I can't do it, I can't look." She squeezed her eyes shut but Caroline turned her around anyway.

Bonnie slowly opened her eyes to look at herself. While the dress wasn't exactly one she'd have picked, it fit her perfectly and she looked stunning in it.

Her hair was in soft curls around her face, pulled back at one of the sides and her lips a deep crimson color.

"You look so beautiful." Caroline said slowly, standing in her own dark blue knee length dress, hair straightened.

Bonnie turned around, "I'm so... scared." she said honestly.

"I know." Caroline pursed her lips.

"I'm getting married, and I'm not even wearing wedding lingerie under this. My bra and panties are periwinkle! Periwinkle Caroline!" she inhaled a little to deeply and made herself dizzy.

"You love periwinkle." Caroline laughed.

"Oh yeah." Bonnie chuckled and shook her head.

"I just never thought this would be happening, and my dad isn't even here. I expect my mother not to be here, after all I haven't heard from her in years. But, it still sucks." she frowned, but Caroline smiled walking over to her bag.

"Since we were in a hurry, I did my best, and grabbed this." Caroline walked back over to her, holding a silk chiffon veil.

"My mothers." Bonnie said slowly, her eyes starting to hurt.

"I knew you'd be too crazy brain to think of it, so, I grabbed it from one of the boxes." she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Caroline, seriously... Please, will you put it on me before I start melting." she chuckled and did her best not to ruin her makeup.

Caroline fastened the veil to her hair and pulled it down over her face, she couldn't see Bonnie's face anymore just a shadow of it.

The veil flowed down to her chest in the front and to her waist in the back and sides.

"Bonnie, are you ready?" Kate asked and Caroline nodded walking with Bonnie back down the hallway and to the doors of the chapel.

"Alright, some brides maids will go in, followed by a flower girl and then you." Kate told her and wrapped her arms around her for a hug.

"Thank you Kate." Bonnie said slowly.

While Kate wasn't her best friend, she'd been around since she was 15 and it did help that she at least knew two people at the wedding.

Casual piano music started playing, as everyone before her walked int and down the isle, she had to prevent herself from high tailing it out of there due to anxiety.

Finally it was her turn, and Caroline linked her arm with hers as the doors opened and 'here comes the bride' started playing.

She never thought her best friend would be the one walking her down the isle, but she was glad she was or else she might have fallen before she took her first step.

Bonnie could hardly see out of the veil, but she saw the shadows of people standing up, and she didn't need to see their faces to know she didn't know any of them.

"It's okay." Caroline whispered, when Bonnie got a little shaky.

Inhaling, she tried to focus just on keeping her steps slow and in time with the music.

 _Hmm, hmmm, mmm hmmm..._

Bonnie hummed quietly with the music in order to keep her breath from growing unsteady.

Finally, she stopped and she could see the outline of who she was sure was the pastor, and when she turned to the side, she saw the outline of a very tall man who she was positive was her husband.

At only 5'1 Bonnie was quiet short, so the man had to have been 6ft tall at least, but she couldn't tell with the veil over her face.

Caroline touched her hand softly before stepping away and standing beside the brides maids.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they should not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace." the pastor spoke and waited for several moments, no one speaking up.

Camera's flashed and Bonnie knew that as soon as the wedding was over, the photos would be online, sent to magazines, news stations, TMZ. That thought was making it harder to breathe.

"I will now open with a reading, chosen by the mother of the groom for the couple." The pastor started and there was the sound of a piece of paper being handled.

"You are my husband/wife.  
My legs run because of you.  
My feet dance because of you.  
My heart shall beat because of you.  
My eyes see because of you.  
My mind thinks because of you.  
And I shall love because of you."

The pastor set the paper down.

"Marriage, is a two person journey. Many believe that marriage means an end to the journey, but in reality there is much more to experience. Now, if the couple would like, they may read vows."

Bonnie blinked, and her heart started to race, she didn't know they were supposed to write vows. How were you supposed to write vows for someone you didn't even know.

She leaned forward a little, and whispered to whoever the man was in front of her, all she knew was he smelled nice.

"I don't have any vows."

"That's alright, I will say something, just be speechless." the man replied and his voice was oddly familiar.

Bonnie leaned away and felt the man take her hands in his. His hands were bigger than hers, soft but a little bit rough and warm. This was calming, but she wasn't having nearly as much fun as she should be on her wedding day.

"Bonnie, you are such a bright light in this world, but as you know I am terrible at remembering anything that you haven't written on a sticky note six hundred times." Damon spoke, his heart was kind of tight.

He'd found out about his possible bride only the night before, and had no clue what she looked like, what she was like.

He could have declined the offer. After all it had been four months since he'd told his father to find him a bride and honestly he didn't expect his father to actually be able to do it.

However, he had committed to this, to whoever this women was and she had committed as well, walking away would be disrespectful, as well as foolish and that wasn't who he was.

The people in the pews chuckled a little at his comment.

"So, I didn't bring my vows but, I didn't forget everything I want to say... You are a beautiful, honest and one of the most kind people I have ever met." he spoke, pulling every possible word he could think of out of his head, and focusing on those theater classes from high school.

Bonnie watched him, hearing the words he said, but knowing they were fake only made this more difficult. She was regretting this, no not at all, but, she definitely wished she'd had more time to prepare.

"I would be completely lost without, and you know this... Which is why I'm marrying you." Damon finished, squeezing the women's hands a little.

Bonnie at first was just looking at him kind of bored and she was glad the photographers couldn't see her face.

Damon squeezed her hand, and she realized she was supposed to be doing something.

She lifted a hand under her veil and pretended to wipe her cheeks.

"Oh, I... Damon, I'm speechless, I can't even remember what I was doing to say."

Several 'awwws' and chuckles came from around her and Damon patted her hand amused.

"That's alright."

A small child came over, giving each of them the wedding bands.

"I, Damon, give you Bonnie this ring as a symbol of my love." Damon said taking her left hand and sliding the ring on her finger.

Bonnie swallowed, realizing that this was happening really fast and before she wanted it to happen really fast but now she was getting kind of nervous and her thoughts were everywhere and...

She inhaled, reminding herself this was a good choice.

"I, Bonnie, give you Damon this ring as a symbol of my love." she spoke softly, sliding his ring onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Virgina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." the pastor said and Bonnie's heart was pounding in her chest as her veil was lifted, but the second it was up, and she looked upwards at Damon, now her husband, it practically stopped in her chest.

Memories she hadn't thought about in months came rushing back to her in waves.

A face he hadn't thought about in months, came burning into his memory in sparks.

 _I'm married to Handsy._

Bonnie thought.

 _I'm married to Light weight._

Damon thought and they spent several seconds just staring at each other in shock.

"You may now kiss the bride." the pastor repeated and Damon blinked trying to clear his head.

Bonnie inhaled and took a step forward at the same time as him.

Damon leaned downwards, a little taken a back by how short she was, he hadn't noticed at the club months before. Closing his eyes he pressed his lips against hers, for only a second or two, but his lips were warm against hers and hers were soft against his.

As soon as Bonnie pulled away, it was official, they were married.

Both of them turned to face the crowd, Damon reaching over to hold her hand.

Her heart wasn't beating as fast anymore, but she was having a hard time believing all of this was even happening.

Damon turned his head to look over at her, wondering how much humor God must have to do  
such ironic things.

The pastor smiled,

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore."

* * *

 _If you enjoyed this chapter, please **leave a review** , it would be a lot to me!_


	4. Then Comes the Not So Honeymoon

_**A/ N:** I wasn't going to post this chapter for a while, but I'm just too excited. I've had this idea in my head for months, and I'm glad I decided to write this story._

 _ **Chapter 4** – Then Comes the Not So Honeymoon._

Damon and Bonnie stood in front of at least twenty people, not counting the 4 brides maids, 3 paparazzi and 1 professional photographer. Everyone was clapping and smiling even though everyone but the paparazzi knew this was a arranged wedding.

"The bride and groom will now leave, along with the bridal party and the photographer to take their first photos as a married couple. Once they are gone, I ask the rest of you to join for a cocktail hour across the street at the reception hall." Kate announced and everyone clapped more.

Damon, still holding Bonnie's hand loosely, headed down the isle with her, as the groomsmen, brides maids (including Caroline), Lily, Giuseppe, Stefan and the wedding photographer followed.

"Alright, we'll be going into the church yard underneath an arch for the photos." the photographer explained and Bonnie nodded.

"Bonnie..." A female voice came from beside her as they walked along the sidewalk outside.

She turned her head to see a red head, with the same blue eyes as Damon.

"I'm Lily Salvatore, Damon's mother." Lily said with a smile.

Bonnie smiled back, being poliet, "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well. While, it is under strange circumstances, I am glad to have made you part of our family." the women touched her shoulder.

Once they stopped in front of the arch, Lily pulled an older man looking to be in his late forties, and a younger man over, just as Caroline who had been trying to get a word in, stepped beside Bonnie.

"This is Giuseppe, Damon's father, and Stefan, his brother." Lily introduced them and Bonnie nodded slowly at Giuseppe's slight smile.

"You look beautiful." Stefan said with a smile, trying to make his new sister in law feel comfortable.

"Thank you." Bonnie replied and turned to look at Caroline.

This is my best friend and honorary sister, Caroline." she introduced her.

"Thank you for coming, Caroline." Lily leaned in to hug her.

"I wouldn't miss it." Care smiled.

"Alright, let's get a picture of everyone first." the photographer said and they all lined up.

"Say, married!"

"Married!" Everyone said and smiled, as he took several photos.

"Alright, bride, groom, maid of honor and best man now."

Bonnie and Damon stood beside each other, Caroline on the other side of Bonnie and Damon's best friend, and best man Enzo, stood beside him.

After a few photo's were taken, Caroline turned to look at Damon.

"Hi, you're married to my best friend, so I thought I should tell you..." Caroline started and Damon blinked, giving her his attention.

"Don't hurt her. This might be an arrangement, but she's still your wife."

Bonnie smiled and bit the inside of her cheek a little, keeping her chuckle to herself.

"Understood, Caroline." Damon's lips turned upwards a little.

"Oh." Damon blinked and turned around a little.

"This is Enzo, my best friend." he said and the brown haired man chuckled.

"It's about time, I was waiting for you to introduce me to your beautiful wife." Enzo spoke, with an obvious accent and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Enzo." Bonnie said, shaking his hand.

"Alright, just bride and groom now." the photographer inturruped them.

"We'll see you guys in the reception hall." Caroline said, walking away with Enzo and the rest of Damon's family, and friends.

Bonnie inhaled, and stood beside Damon, feeling his arm wrap around her, hand resting gently on her waist.

She felt like she looked stiff, so she put one hand on his shoulder.

After several photo's were taking, they broke apart and Damon realized he hadn't even really said one word to her since discovering she was light weight.

"Alright, I'm heading into the hall, you two take your time." the photographer smiled and walked away as paparazzi stole some shots of the couple and walked over.

"Is it alright if we go into the reception, for photos?" a photographer from People asked, with a FOX and TMZ photographer standing on either side of him.

"Sure, but could you give us some privacy?" Damon asked them, and they nodded, walking away and towards the reception hall across the street.

"Wow." Bonnie chuckled.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"They were so calm, respectful, that's a first." she noted.

Damon nodded, "We invited them to come, they wouldn't ruin their invitation by misbehaving."

"Ah, alright." Bonnie pursed her lips, before itching behind her ear.

"So, is now a good time to bring up the fact that, I'm pretty sure 4 months ago, I sat in your booth, drank your booth and drank your bourbon at a night club?" Bonnie asked, while clearing her throat.

Damon chuckled tensely, "I was going to say, you look a lot like some pretty stranger who sat in my booth and drank my bourbon at a night club."

Bonnie smiled, "So, guess that was us, huh?"

"Of all the people my dad picked for me to marry." he shook his head.

"It's ironic, like seeing a teacher at the grocery store." she replied nervously.

Damon nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Just as awkward too."

Bonnie exhaled, "Oh, thank God, I thought I was the only one was uncomfortable."

"You thought I was comfortable? I couldn't even breath when I was watching you walk down the isle, I was thinking..." Damon licked his lips before continuing.. "Please, please don't be someone I knew in High School."

"I didn't even think of that! Oh, wow that'd be so bad." Bonnie laughed.

There was a slight pause as the tension lifted from the air a little bit.

"I had, no idea who you were at that club." she sighed, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Well, now you're married to me." Damon teased and her lips turned up a bit.

"To be completely honest, I'm glad it's you I'm married too." he said after a few seconds, and this surprised her.

"Why?" Bonnie asked, curious.

"Well, I feel as though I was a little disrespectful that night." Damon admitted.

"Oh! With the hand thing? We were both pretty drunk, it's alright." she said with a shrug.

"Well, still, I don't normally touch strange women without their permission." he cleared his throat.

Bonnie smiled, "So, you touch strange women with their permission?"

Damon blinked, "Uh, well..." he chuckled, his face flushing a tad.

" No, of course not, right? You just marry them." Bonnie teased with a chuckle, but when Damon didn't responde in the same way, instead looking down a little she thought she might have been wrong in saying that.

"Oh, I'm sorry if that-" she started but he looked back up and smiled a little.

"No, no. It's just, this all happened so fast. I only just found out I was getting married last night." Damon said slowly.

Bonnie nodded, eying him in his suit, with his perfectly combed pitch black hair. He looked so... sophisticated, unlike any guys at the ballet company. She would see guys who look like him and never ever pictured herself married to a guy like him.

When Bonnie pictured who she'd eventually be married to, it was a fellow dancer maybe, who was as socially awkward as her and only had one good tie.

Guys like Damon, rich guys, with perfect hair and pools for eyes, the odd sense of dominance they had for a personality were always something of a whisper in the community. Never around long enough, never away long enough. People spoke of them like plagues and cures all at the same time.

"I only just found out last night as well." she replied, tilting her head a little.

When she looked at Damon, she expected a internal sense of entitlement and perhaps that was in there somewhere, but the look on his face mirrored the same thing she was feeling.

"It's weird, all the sudden being married. I've known my father was working on finding me a wife for months, but it's actually happened." he said loosening his bowtie.

"I never in my life thought about being married to a stranger, last night was the first time it had ever been a choice." Bonnie sighed, stepping over and reaching up to help him take off his bowtie when he seemed to be having a little trouble.

Damon was a little taken a back by this and went still. With Bonnie's hands near his throat, she blinked and realized she should've asked.

"Sorry, you don't mind?" she asked and he shook his head letting her take it off for him.

"Here." Bonnie's cheeks flushed a light pink and she handed him the tie.

"Thanks, for the hundreds of these I've put on and taken off in my life you'd think I'd be better at it." Damon chuckled, shoving the tie in his pocket.

"If it makes you feel any better, it took me a hot minute to get the garter on. Although, I've never worn one before." she admitted, and then wished she'd kept that to herself.

"Well, I'll do my best taking it off." he smirked, and it was... well, it made Bonnie's own lips turn upwards, and her chest tingle.

"So... Maybe we should get into the reception hall, for the 'grand entrance' and first dance." Bonnie noted, and he nodded, leading her across the street as she lifted her gown up so it didn't touch the cement of the street.

"You two ready to go in?" Kate asked, as she was standing outside of the double doors.

"Yes." Bonnie replied and she smiled.

"Alright, let me go in, and make sure everyone is ready, count to one hundred, and then come in." she told them and walked into the building.

Damon chuckled, "We're not actually going to count to a hundred are we?"

"Nope." Bonnie popped the 'p' and reached on top of her head to unfasten the veil.

"Here, I got it." he offered, helping her and pulling it off her head.

"Thanks." she smiled and took the veil into her hands.

Damon looked around, thankful that it wasn't raining for the first day in a while.

"Maybe we should go in now." he said slowly, and she nodded.

Damon opened the door for her, following in behind her and entered into the corridor that led into the main reception hall.

Kate stepped into the hallway and smiled when she saw them.

"Here." Bonnie said, handing her the veil.

"Please, be careful with it, give it to Caroline." she continued.

Kate nodded and stepped aside from them.

Damon walked slowly beside Bonnie as they entered the hall, everyone standing around the room, a large space in the center of the room as cleared.

"Please welcome, my son Damon, and his lovely wife, Bonnie as they head into their first dance." Lily said into a microphone and everyone clapped, photo's being snapped.

Damon looked over at Bonnie, who was a little nervous, which was ironic because she's a dancer after all. But, this seemed different than dancing practiced ballet on a stage. She wasn't prepared for this.

He reached over taking her hand and the lights faded off, a dimmer light in the center of the clearing turned on.

Walking together they made it to the center of the room as the intro to the song started, turning to face each other, Damon set his hands on her waist, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

 _'_ _Every time our eyes meet, this feeling inside me, is almost more than I can take.'_

Bonnie recognized, Amazed by Lonestar and her lips turned up a little bit, as they started to sway slowly, all eyes on them.

' _Baby when you touch me_ _,_ _I can feel how much you love me_ _, a_ _nd it just blows me away.'_

"Who picked this song?" she asked quietly.

"I did." Damon replied, watching her face curiously.

"It's a good song." Bonnie smiled at him, and mirrored it with his own lips.

 _'I've never been this close to anyone or anything, I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams.'_

As the chorus started, they moved a little closer together, their arms around each other a bit tighter subconsciously.

 _'I don't know how you do what you do, I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better.  
I wanna spend the rest of my life with you by my side, forever and ever. Every little thing that you do,  
baby I'm amazed by you.'_

Bonnie's chest felt a little lighter, and tighter at the same time. She didn't love the man before her, but the song, the surroundings, the mood it was beautiful and was making it difficult to breath steadily.

 _I'm married... oh God, I'm married._

She thought, starting to get a panic attack, her head doing dizzy.

Damon could see something was wrong with her, her emerald eyes getting glossy wet and her hands around his neck were shaking, her chest rising and falling with her quick breathes.

Suddenly, he pulled her in closer, without warning. He maneuvered their bodies to where her face was hidden in his shoulder, with his own head pressed against hers.

"What are you..." Bonnie started, confused, her voice cracking.

As her eyes started to over flow and water was dripping down her cheeks, she realized he was keeping the paparazzi from taking photo's of her crying.

"It's okay." he said slowly against the side of her head, and her eyes squeezed shut, tiny sobs coming from her lips and she did her best to hold most of it inside. Not wanting to draw attention on it.  
 _  
'_ _Oh it feels like the first time every time, I wanna spend the whole night in your arms.'_

Bonnie's torso started to shake a little, and he held her tighter so it wouldn't.

"The songs almost over, just a another minute." Damon whispered when her legs started to feel weak, he continued swaying with her and keeping her upright, face hidden.

 _'_ _Every little thing that you do, I'm so in love with you, it just keeps getting better.  
I wanna spend the rest of my life with you by my side, forever and ever.  
Every little thing that you do. oh, yeah every little thing that you do, Baby, I'm amazed by you'_

Finally the song was over and every one was clapping, and while Bonnie was ready to pull away and run straight out of the room causing a scene, Damon kept his arms around her until Kate walked over.

"What's..." Kate started quietly.

"The bride needs a moment." Damon whispered and looked over at all the people staring at them.

Kate nodded, "Everyone, please be seated at your tables, the toast's will start in a few moments, talk amongst yourselves."

Kate walked away as everyone started to sit down.

Damon, moved to the side of Bonnie, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and keeping her face hidden by the photographers as they walked out of the reception hall, down the hallway and into the women's rest room.

The second they were in there, and he let her go, she inhaled deeply, the sound coming from her lips afterward making his own eyes hurt a little.

Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut, crying, leaning against the wall, hardly able to stand up.

"It's alright." Damon said slowly, grabbing a box of tissues from the counter and putting a few in her hands.

"It's alright?" Bonnie sobbed.

"I'm losing it!" she inhaled, her eyes flying open as her mascara ran down her face and her lipstick was smeared.

Her chest hurt, her head hurt, her eyes were so blurry.

"Oh god." she huffed, "I can't breathe."

Bonnie felt like a mess, she'd never done something like this before. She was supposed to be happy, and maybe she was happy, oh fuck she couldn't figure out how she felt.

"I can't breathe." she repeated and Damon put his hands on her shoulder.

"You can breath, you're just having an anxiety attack. Inhale." he said to her, trying to keep himself together even though his own chest was starting to get riddled with panic.

"Inhale." he said again and Bonnie inhaled deeply.

"In... and out... in... and out." Damon guided her breathing until she wasn't gasping for air anymore, and her chest was calmed.

"I'm a mess, I'm crying at my own arranged wedding, while my husbands in the bathroom, talking me through a panic attack." she said, more tears running down her face.

Damon lifted a hand to touch her cheek, "What else would you expect your husband to do? Huh?" he looked at her face, wondering who exactly had made the women with stained cheeks in front of him, the women who was now his wife, with grass green eyes, so blind to what a marriage really is.

"You're not a mess, but even if you were, your husband is the exact person who is supposed to talk you through it." he whispered, as the tears stopped flowing from her cheeks.

Bonnie swallowed, feeling better, except for a minor headache and inhaled once more.

Whoever Damon was, she didn't really know but one thing she did know was, he wasn't a bad person.

"Thanks." she whispered, sniffling and he smiled a little.

"Hey, you're the bride, it's all about the bride, right?" he winked and watched as she wiped her face off with the tissues.

"It's all so crazy. My dad isn't even here, and... to be honest I just wish he was here." Bonnie said her eyes sad and Damon bit his lower lip.

"Here." he said, pulling his phone from his pocket, unlocking it and handing it to her.

"Call your father." Damon told her and she took a breath.

Bonnie dialed her fathers number, hoping he was for once not busy.

"Hello?" her father answered after several rings.

"Daddy, it's me." she said slowly, moving to sit on the bathroom floor, she didn't care about the dress getting dirty.

"Oh, Bonnie!" Rudy said, a little confused at first because of the unknown number.

"I'm married, dad. Like, super married." Bonnie said, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Congratulations! I was going to call you after the reception, is everything okay?" he asked, the sound of her fathers voice making her chest lighter and she smiled.

"Yeah, I think it is." she exhaled and looked up at Damon who smiled at her.

"I know this is a strange situation, but I love you, sweet heart." Rudy said to her, and she closed her eyes.

"I love you too dad, so much." Bonnie breathed, her heart steady.

"Call me later on, alright?"

"Yes, of course. Bye, dad." she hanging up slowly and opening her eyes to look at Damon who was at the sink now with the water running.

After several moments, he walked over with a damp tissue, and knelt down to her level.

"May I?" he asked, and she nodded, letting him clean her cheeks and underneath her eyes, around her lips...

He then dried them with a dry tissue and offered a hand to help her up off the floor.

"Feeling better?" Damon asked her and she nodded.

Damon wasn't usually this... nice towards people, but perhaps that was because no one around him ever really opened up. Everyone was fake in some sort of way, hiding their feelings, pretending to be someone they weren't.

Something about Bonnie, other than the fact that she was his wife, was... different. She wasn't pretending to be anything.

"Thank you, Damon. You didn't have to do this." she said slowly and he shook his head.

"We might not really know each other, but we're getting to know each other now. What kind of guy would I be if I let my wife break down in the middle of a group of people?" he asked and she nodded a little.

"Well, regardless, thank you." Bonnie repeated.

"You're welcome." he said and took his phone from her hands before opening the door so she could walk out ahead of him.

* * *

Almost two hours later and everyone was getting a little tired, there wasn't much dancing due to the small amount of people it was about time for the bride and groom to leave the reception.

"Ugh, I am going to miss you." Caroline frowned a little, leaning in to wrap her arms around Bonnie.

"I'll only be gone for a few days." Bonnie assured her with a small smile.

"Well, your bags you packed have been put into Damon's care according to Kate, and Ms. Bayes is aware of your absence. But if she has a problem with it, I'll arabesque her right in the face." Care grinned as she pulled away from her.

"Thank you." she chuckled, and reached down to fix the shirt of the dress she'd been given to change into.

"I hope you at least have fun, wherever you're going." Caroline chuckled and looked at Bonnie in her knee length cinched waist flouncy dark red dress.

Bonnie nodded a little, "It's going to be weird... going on a.. not so honeymoon."

"Ugh, call me at least once... if there is cell reception." she groaned and wrapped Bonnie in another hug before patting her shoulder and letting her walk out of the bathroom she'd changed in.

Damon was waiting inside for her, and Caroline waved at him before going outside to wait with the rest of the guests.

"You ready to get out of here?" he asked Bonnie and she chuckled.

"Honestly? Yes."

Damon walked with Bonnie out of the double doors, and they were greeted by people throwing rose pedals and people chuckling, a little buzzed from the open bar.

"Have fun!" Lily called as Damon opened the passenger side door for her, and she got in, buckling her seat belt.

Bonnie waited for Damon to get in and buckle his belt, watching the people disappear behind them in the rear view mirror.

"Well, the weddings over." she said after a moment.

"Indeed it is. Honestly, it got boring after the toasts." Damon admitted, with a small smirk.

Bonnie nodded, looking out the window for a second but then feeling like she needed to be striking  
up conversation.

"It's a little weird, that were actually going on a honeymoon." she started and he looked over at her for a second.

"I mean, they don't actually expect us to...well... right?" Bonnie asked, suddenly curious and a little nervous.

Damon pursed his lips, "I think they do, actually." he said.

"But, I wouldn't want you to do anything you don't want to."he assured her, sensing her tension.

Bonnie nodded, "I wouldn't want you to do anything you don't want to either."

He smiled a little, "I thought you might assume, I'd sleep with you either way."

"Why? Because you're a guy? No... I'm not that tactless. Your consent and desire, is just as important as mine." she said tilting her head to the side.

"That's, really mature of you." Damon told her as they pulled onto the high way.

"I try." she smiled and stretched her feet a little.

Damon took one hand off the steering wheel now that they were on the high way and drove with just one hand, his other hand resting on the door beside him.

"You're, not what I expected." Bonnie said after a few moments.

"What did you expect?" he asked her, watching as the sun was almost set in the distance.

"Maybe someone a little more... entitled, quiet, dominate." she said slowly, hoping she wasn't offending him.

Damon smirked a little, "Entitled no, quiet sometimes, but dominate, perhaps. However, since you've only just met me, I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, or put you in a... compromising postion."

Bonnie's face suddenly got a lot warmer and she turned to look out in the window in an effort to hide it.

"I see." she replied, her heart picking up again.

"See?" Damon chuckled, looking over at her with his bright eyes.

"I'm not uncomfortable." Bonnie replied.

"What about, in a compromising position?" he asked, his voice getting a little bit deeper.

Bonnie's legs squeezed together a little tighter, his eyes wandering them for a moment and she cleared her throat.

"Sorry, I'll stop teasing you." Damon blinked, and looked back at the road.

"Where are we going?" she asked, crossing her ankles.

"My parents set up a place in Italy, that's where we are supposed to go." he replied and she tilted her head.

"Supposed to go?"

Damon chuckled, "Meaning, if there is somewhere else you'd rather you, please don't hesitate to tell me."

"Well, honestly, I'm not to keen on leaving the country with my stranger husband." Bonnie chuckled nervously.

"If it makes you feel any better, I was thinking the same thing about you."

Bonnie smiled, "Awe, we're both unsure of each other, how romantic."

Damon laughed, "Very."

"Wouldn't your parents be kind of upset if we just bailed on their trip they planned?" she asked and he nodded.

"They would be pissed...but then they'd get over it." he told her, switching lanes.

"Hmm." she thought, wondering if it was agood idea to piss off her new family on the same day she met them.

"If there is anywhere you'd like to go, you should tell me before I drive too much further." Damon looked over at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Well..." Bonnie started, "There is this hotel, Onyx? I've been there once or twice. They have pretty much everything. Restaurants, bars, clubs, a movie theater, pool, probably a lot more I can't even remember." she smiled, remembering when her and Caroline had went there two years before.

"To Onyx we shall go then." Damon insisted and searched the hotel on his GPS, with Bonnie's help finding the right one and they were on the path for the hotel.

"One rule." he said as they headed along the road.

"What?" she asked, leaning her head back.

"No cell phones, because I assure you, we'll be getting calls from my parents as soon as they get a call about us not getting on the plane." Damon told her.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "I need it to call my dad and Caroline at least once."

"There will be phones in the rooms, right?" he asked, and she blinked.

"Oh yeah, so okay, no cell phones." she smiled.

Damon smiled back and looked at the GPS to make sure he was going the right way still.

"I'm curious, why was I chosen to marry you and not your brother?" Bonnie asked after several moments of them driving through the dark, the sky starting to fill with stars.

"Stefan?" Damon chuckled, "Well, he's still in college, and isn't exactly the most successful of the family yet. I co-own our company with my father."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm kind of glad I'm married to you and not your brother." she admitted.

"Why's that?" he wondered.

"It would be a little awkward, if I was married to him but met you first." Bonnie chuckled and he nodded.

"Okay, you're right about that." Damon nodded and ran a hand through his hair, taking it from it's perfect comb to a messy blend of waves.

Forty five minutes later and they were pulling into the parking lot of the Onyx, with their phones turned off.

"Alright..." Damon mumbled as he got out of the car the same time as Bonnie.

Walking to the trunk, he opened it, pulling out Bonnie's two bags, and his bags, carrying them all and she laughed.

"What?" he asked, obviously sturggling to hold them all.

"Nothing, nothing." she lied, and closed the trunk, walking in front of him, backwards, watching him walk slowly.

"Do you need help?" she asked with a smile, and he huffed, lowering his arms so the bags were touching the ground.

"Oh no, I'm fine. I took my steroids today." Damon teased and she laughed, walking over to him and grabbing two of the bags.

"Here, I got some." Bonnie lifted the bags and they headed into the lobby, stopping at the front desk, and setting the bags down.

"Welcome, how can I help you?" the women at the front desk with the name tag, 'Tamara' smiled.

"Myself and my new wife would like a room." Damon told her, a little out of breath and Bonnie snickered.

"Oh, newly weds. Congratulations. I can get you a honeymoon suite if you'd like that. One king size bed, fully functioning kitchen, hot tub, television ect," Tamara told them as she typed on the computer in front of her.

"Is that alright?" Damon asked Bonnie, clearly referring to the one bed thing.

"Yeah... It's alright, thank you." she replied.

"Great! Name of whoever is playing please, and we take debit or credit here. It will be $500 a night, room included no extra charge, free wifi as well but if you go to any of the restaurants, bars, activities, you will be seperately for there." she said and Damon nodded.

"We'll be staying three nights. It's, Damon Salvatore."

Tamara smiled, "Salvatore, as in..." she started and he finished for her.

"Of the Ballet Salvatore's, yes indeed." he chuckled and she took his credit card when she handed it to him.

Once the room was paid for, a bellhop came over, putting their bags on a cart and leading them up to their room.

"Have a nice stay at Onyx." the man said with a smile and Damon tipped him after the bags were set inside the room.

Bonnie flipped on the light switch, eyes going a little wide.

The room was, gorgeous, large with the king sized be one one wall, a kitchen leading off, a bathroom leading off on the other side, a closet, dresser, flat screen TV on the wall, and a couch on the far end. There was sliding glass door leading out to the patio where she knew the hot tub would be and there were roses in vases around the room. At least half a dozen vases.

"This is really beautiful." she chuckled as she heard Damon close the door.

"It is..." Damon replied, "Is there anything you'd like to do?"

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek and didn't speak.

"What?" he asked taking his suit jacket off.

"It's stupid." she waved it off but he stepped over a little more as she sat down on the end of the bed.

"Well... Every Sunday I kind of have a routine, I take a shower, then get snacks and watch. cartoons." Bonnie said slowly.

Damon blinked, "Then, you can do that. I don't want to keep you from something."

"Really? It's not lame or anything?" Bonnie asked him.

"No, not at all, go take your shower." he insisted and she smiled, taking off her shoes.

"Thanks." she said, grabbing her bag of clothing and walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Stripping down, she set her bag on the counter and eyed the large mirror along one wall, with the marble counter, bright white sink.

The shower was big, and had not one but two shower heads.

Stepping into the shower, she turned on the hot water, mixed in the cold slowly and sighed.

She felt oddly calm for someone who just got married, then again, she had her break down during the reception. Now she was... worried, but not that much. Bonnie wondered what life would be like being married to Damon, after the honey moon when she would have to stay at his house most likely, when she would go back to school and be asked about it, when they'd have to go to outings together.

She wondered if people would catch on that it was fake, what they'd say...

Inhaling as she washed her hair, her body, she decided to forget about that for now. The water washed away the day and finally she stepped out, drying off with a fresh, flower scented towel and unzipped her bag.

Searching through it, she was looking for her pajamas, but, suddenly realized they were missing.  
They had been replaced with... lingerie.

Bonnie pulled out one of the black, half see through, flowy lingerie's and groaned a little.

"Caroline..." she whispered, disapprovingly.

Bonnie thought about wearing one for a second, what else was she going to wear but quickly shot that idea down. She wasn't comfortable being that exposed to Damon.

She looked around the bathroom, and saw 4 robes hanging on hooks. 2 cotton ones, 2 silk ones.

Grabbing a cotton one, she pulled it on and wrapped it around her body, before slowly opening the door.

When she looked out, steam flowing from the bathroom, she saw Damon sitting on the bed.

He had changed out of his previous clothing and was wearing light gray sweat pants, and a black t-shirt.

"Caroline switched my pajamas out with... less appropriate attire." Bonnie told him and he blinking, taking a moment to realize what she meant.

"Oh." he chuckled and walked over to his bag, grabbing a dark grey t-shirt.

"This might work." he offered it to her and she took it.

"Thanks." Bonnie smiled a little and closed the bathroom door.

"Well, no pants, is better than that thing." she mumbled to herself looking at the lingerie.

Pulling on her panties, she then put the black shirt on and chuckled at how big it was on her. It reached almost to her knee's and she shook her head. After combing her hair, she zipped her bag back up.

Opening the bathroom door, she stood there waiting for Damon to look at her.

"Oh, wow, you're so short." he laughed and she smiled walking over and sitting on the bed beside him at the head of it.

"Maybe you're just abnormally tall." she teased him and he rolled his eyes.

It was even more obvious to her how attractive he was in normal lighting, for some reason, he was even more attractive in his pajamas than in a suit.

His hair was a little messy, his stubble was the perfect length and she swore his jawline was even more sharp. But, it wasn't just this. His arms, were toned, strong looking but still soft.

Bonnie had to be honest, she didn't mind looking at the man.

"Alright, snacks, right? I found chips, pretzels, and chocolate in the cabinets." Damon's told her and slid the stuff over to the middle of the bed.

"Ohh." she smiled and grabbed the chips, opening the bag.

"So, Mrs. Salvatore, what cartoon would you like to watch?" Damon asked her with an amused smirk, leaning back against the headboard a little.

* * *

Please **leave a review**


	5. You Can't Escape the Paparazzi

_**A/N:** Sooo, I got a little too excited and the chapter ended up being 10,000 words. LOL So, you're welcome! ****_

 _ **Chapter 5** – You Can't Escape the Paparazzi_

"Uh, no I don't think you really understand the message." Bonnie chuckled as she popped another chocolate in her mouth.

"It's Adventure Time, what message even is there?" Damon asked extending a hand out towards the television.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "It's a post apocalyptic world, that's why there's candy people, they're just mutated after math."

Damon put a hand on his forehead, "There's a talking, magical dog. I think you're reading into this."

"I'm reading into it? You're the one who asked how BMO fell in love with a bubble." she accused and threw a pretzel at him.

"It was an honest inquiry." he insisted, and ate the pretzel that had landed on his shoulder.

Bonnie smiled a little and then turned her face back to look at the television.

It was weird for her, sitting beside Damon, watching cartoons with a wedding ring on her hand and wearing his shirt none the less. This was something she did with Caroline, although usually in robes with a lot more lying on each other. It was something she remembered doing with her mother before she had left when she was 7. They'd get home on Sunday after lunch, put pj's on, and watch cartoons for the entire day.

"I'm not sure how I never saw this show before." Damon mused, trying to keep up the pleasant conversation.

Because, what Bonnie didn't know was Damon had never done this before. He'd never sat down with someone and just watched television, not since he was a child. His usual personality wasn't quiet so nice. Working in his families company, being a dance critic, gave him a reputation for being harsh, secretive, quiet. It wasn't a lie, those were all things he could be, but having just met Bonnie, he wasn't sure how she'd react to all the other sides of his personality.

"You don't seem like the cartoon kind of guy." she chuckled, still focused on the TV.

"I'm not, but lately I've been doing a lot of things I wouldn't normally do." he said and she turned her head to look over at him.

"Like what exactly?" Bonnie asked, pursing her lips.

"Well, for starters, marrying a stranger." he started and she nodded a little.

"Secondly, dancing... Ditching a trip to Italy, and watching cartoons." Damon continued and she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You're family owns a ballet company, and you're a critic, yet you don't dance?" she asked him and he shook his head.

"Oh, I know how to, I just don't prefer it." he replied and she laughed.

"You don't prefer dancing, yet judge other peoples dancing for a living. Something is off there." Bonnie shook her head.

"Believe it or not Bonnie, not everyone is who they seem." Damon told her, and she blinked.

"You seem, nicer than I expected, I will admit." Bonnie brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Damon looked to the side a little, "That's just because that's who I'm choosing to show you."

Bonnie was intrigued now, and picked up the remote, turning the TV off, which caught Damon's attention and he looked in front of himself.

"Don't peg me for a fool. I don't trust you. I was just making an observation." she insisted, her eyes scanning his face.

Damon nodded and ran a hand through his dark hair, causing a few strands to fall in very slightly curls against his forehead.

"Tell me then, what you expect of me, think of me... in your observation then." he told her, and she tilted her head to the side.

"I don't think I will." she replied, watching as Damon's tongue slowly moved to licked his lower lip.

"I suppose I would've guessed you'd say that." he smirked a little and she furrowed her brow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bonnie asked.

"It means, I'm from a very secretive family. I'm a lot more intense than you realize, a lot more troubled, and a lot more rigid than you realize." Damon spoke, turning his face to look at her, his blue eyes a lot more serious.

"It means, you don't know me." he said, honestly. Knowing his sudden change in tone might upset the woman but he didn't care. He wanted to be honest. If there was one thing, she could count on, it was that he was always honest.

"I never intended to imply I know you." she said slowly, the darkness in Damon's eyes was both alluring and unsettling.

"Just, be aware that you don't know me either." Bonnie started, looking back at him with the same amount of vigor and this was almost like a challenge to him.

"If you're unaware, I'm more troubled than I seem. There's more to me than a pretty ballerina your father placed in front of you to marry." she said, not breaking eye contact with him.

"So, if you're trying to imply something...you're mistaken."

"Damon, I'm a grown women, not a child." Bonnie finished, and Damon just looked at her, trying to unravel the complexity in her eyes.

"I'm not doubting that..." he said slowly and watched as she sighed and looked away from him.

"Let's just agree that, we both don't know each other. All of this is strange for both of us, being married all the sudden." Damon said after a few moments.

Bonnie looked over at him, her face a little softer.

"Agreed..."

Ten minutes later and the lights were out, Bonnie lying beside Damon with a foot or so of space between the both of them. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling kind of uncomfortable lying in the same bed as him. There was nothing sexual going on, they weren't even touching or using the same blanket; since he'd grabbed another one so she could have her own. Yet, it was just odd. She hadn't slept in the same bed as a man in over 2 years. She'd _slept_ with a man in the last two years, but she hadn't fallen asleep in the same bed as him; and she had actually known the man, unlike Damon.

She closed her eyes, pulling the blanket up to her chin as she rolled over onto her side and tried to pretend she was at home in her own bed. Thankfully, it didn't take to long for her to drift to sleep once she focused on her own breathing above anything else.

Damon's eyes were closed but he wasn't sleep; he was listening to his breathing, her breathing, a slight ringing in his ears and the thoughts bouncing around his head.

For Damon, falling asleep in the same bed as Bonnie wasn't what he was thinking about, it didn't bother him in the slightest. He'd slept with, and fallen asleep with women he barely knew before.

What was unsettling for him, was the fact that she was so far away from him, a foot away, with her head turned away from him. And, he began wondering if it was always going to be like this. Now that he was married to someone who didn't love him, didn't know him.

Would it always be this way? Them sleeping feet apart, not touching, no care there. Or would that change? To Damon that seemed like a pointless worry, but he couldn't deny the fact that it frightened him.

He felt as though, he had taken all moments when he had someone who wanted to touch him, lay with him, feel him, for granted. And now, he might be stuck with someone who would never touch him.

Of course, he couldn't know the future for sure, but... it seemed like a horrifying possibility. It wasn't that he expected Bonnie to want to be with him, close to him, he wasn't sure he wanted to be like that with her yet.

But, he did secretly hope that one day, that would change, for both of them. Because while the marriage was arranged, he didn't want it to be intimacy-less.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the ceiling and placed both of his arms above his head.

Whatever was going to happen in the future was unknown and out of his control. This wasn't something he enjoyed...

* * *

Bonnie's mind was fast asleep, it had been seemingly dreamless the entire night but at some point or another, memories from the wedding started steeping in and taking over.

 _Bonnie walked slowly over to the chair sitting in the center of the group as Damon followed slowly behind her. Sitting on the white button cushion chair, everyone's eyes were on here and her chest felt tighter._

In reality, the garter toss was common and she knew it was coming eventually but having a group of strange people watching her strange husband remove her garter was a little daunting.

Bonnie tried to ignore the watching eyes, flashing camera's as she pulled the skirt of the dress up a foot so that it was easier for Damon to... maneuver yet not so much that her guests got a flash of their own.

Damon knelt to the floor, and slowly put his head into the skirt of her dress when she extended her leg out a little bit. Bonnie tried to look as comfortable as possible, but when there's a head up your skirt, that's a tad bit difficult.

He quickly glanced at her thighs to see which one the garter was on, and did his best to avoid looking anywhere else but very vaguely saw the color periwinkle before he scooted his head up just an inch or two more. Damon had never done this before, he'd take garters off but, usually they were the last thing, and he wasn't taking it off for an audience.

Bonnie's breath skipped for a moment when she could feel his breathing against her skin and his fingers along the band of the garter.

Damon gently gripped the garter, which had a satin white band, and lace ruffling down it abut an inch, two small pink flowers along the band; and started to pull it down her thigh.

She felt like this was taking far longer than it needed to and her fingers twitched uncomfortably.

Finally Damon's head moved out from her skin, and the garter was pulled over her knee, down her calf and off of her foot.

Some people cheered, while photo's were taken and Damon stood up from the floor.

Bonnie's eyes fluttered open and she inhaled, chest rising and falling as she processed being awake.

Her skin was a muggy warm and the duvet was kicked away from her feet.

Swallowing, she reran the memory she'd dreamed about in her head, and blinked away the blurriness in front of her eyes.

She knew it was morning, because the sun was hazily through the deep red curtains along the window and sliding glass door.

Looking to the left her, she expected to see Damon there but was surprised when the space was empty, of him, his pillows, and his covers.

"Damon?" she asked slowly, sitting up in the bed and running a hand over her face.

Bonnie didn't get an answer, but when she looked to the right of her, she saw a familiar head of black hair peeking over the arm of the tan couch a yard or so from the bed.

She blinked, a little confused and stepped out of bed, stretching her arms above her head before walking over to look at Damon, who was lying there with his eyes closed, chest rising and falling.

"Hmm." she mumbled, wondering why he'd moved to the couch.

Bonnie just stood there for a second, to see if he'd opened his eyes but all he did was shift in his sleep.

She felt her stomach rumble, and realized she was hungry, so she turned around to go into the kitchen.

Several moment's later, Damon blinked awake having a weird feeling like Bonnie had been standing there and figured she had woken up.

Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face, through his hair and sat up, tossing the blanket aside.

"Coffee." Damon whispered, feeling a drowsiness that was only going to be cured by Folgers.

Getting up from the couch, he started for the doorway to the kitchen, which was open and when he got there, he blinked, and saw Bonnie. She was reaching up into a cabinet for a bowl, her dark blue underwear peaking out from his shirt she was wearing, that was lifted up as she reached.

Damon's eyes did a once over of her long brown legs and he quickly looked away, clearing his throat.

"Oh, you're awake." Bonnie said as she had the bowl and turned around to face him.

"Yeah, I came to make coffee." he said stepping into the kitchen, his hair and shirt both ruffled.

She nodded and shut the cabinet before opening another to see what kind of cereal the hotel had put in there.

Damon walked over to the coffee pot, filling it up with water, pouring into the back, and putting coffee into the coffee filter.

Bonnie looked over at him as she poured milk into her Froot Loops and pursed her lips.

"So, you moved over to the couch?" she asked as he was turning the coffee pot on.

"Oh, yeah." Damon replied, turning around and leaning against the counter.

"Why?" Bonnie inquired, getting a spoon and stirring the cereal around.

He chuckled, "Well, I woke up a few hours after we fell asleep, and you just seemed uncomfortable."

She tilted her head to the side, "Oh?"

"You kept rolling over and throwing your blanket everywhere." Damon told her and she blinked.

"That's new." Bonnie said quietly.

He nodded, "You seemed to be calmer once I moved to the couch."

"Ah, well. I'm sorry about that." she smiled a little and held her bowl in front of herself, taking a few bites.

"I had some weird dreams of the wedding. I think one was about the cake cutting." Damon said, rubbing at one of his eyes blue eyes.

"Oh, yeah me too." Bonnie replied without thinking and Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What about?" he asked and she blinked.

"I don't really remember." she lied, her face flushing a very light pink and she took a large spoonful of cereal.

Damon nodded slowly, noticing her blush and smirked a little before turning around to grab a coffee cup as the pot was almost full.

"So, anything you'd like to do today?" he asked as he made his coffee.

"Uhh." Bonnie started, looking over at the clock on the microwave, seeing that it was 10:43am.

"We can look at one of the pamphlet's on the TV stand, to decide" she offered, and Damon nodded, slowly drinking his coffee.

It only took another minute or two for Bonnie to finish her cereal so she just stood there, and then set the bowl in the sink before making her way back into the main room.

Damon followed behind her, watching her grab the pamphlet and sit down on the end of the bed.

The night before had gotten a little intense, with the "you don't know me" talk, and Bonnie knew that wouldn't be the last of that topic, but Damon was continuing with his friendly attitude, so she didn't want to bring anything that might cause tension up.

"What do you like to do?" she asked, flipping through the pages.

"I'm not quiet sure." Damon said drinking from his mug and walking along the carpet slowly.

"You don't know? I mean, besides drinking bourbon and being 'intense and rigid.'" Bonnie said with a small smile.

 _So much for not bringing it up._

Damon's lips parted and he wasn't sure how to respond so he just exhaled and filled the space in his mouth with more coffee.

"We could go bowling." she suggested, running her finger along the page and looked up at him.

"Sure." he replied, not really caring what they did.

Honestly, Damon wasn't sure how he was supposed to be acting on this honeymoon. He was kind of tired, a little frustrated and at a loss for words. Casual conversation wasn't a huge part of his life. Even with his best friend Enzo, they never said too much. Any time they had away from work, and annoying people they just had drinks, hit on women, or silently watched some movie about a war or two.

"Alright, well. Let's get dressed then." Bonnie set he pamphlet down, and walked into the bathroom where her bag was still sitting on the counter.

Closing the door she stuffed through the bag, pulling a bra out, and deciding on a black floral long sleeve shorts jumper. Taking Damon's shirt off she got dressed, combed her hair and stepped back out into the main room.

"Okay, so we should get downstairs and bowl, then-" she started, pushing on her sneakers but as she turned her head around she got an eyeful of Damon standing there, shirtless in a pair of dark wash jeans.

Blinking she watched him grab a gray long sleeve button up shirt from the bed and pull it on.

"...and then get lunch around noon, or one." she continued, seeing his abs disappear as he buttoned up the shirt.

"Sounds good." Damon replied looking up at her as he grabbed a hat and put it on.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "You really need to wear a hat?" she asked, eying the thing, it wasn't exactly the best hat in the world.

"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow back at her.

"No reason." she lied with a small smile and grabbed her purse, even though her phone was turned off per the agreement.

"Hey, I like this hat." Damon said defensibly and Bonnie tucked her bottom inwards to keep herself from saying something snarky.

"Alright. Oh, remind me at some point to call my dad." she told him and headed out of the front door with him following behind her.

Once they got downstairs into the bowling alley, they check out some shoes and picked out their bowling balls and walked over to a lane.

"I used to bowl a lot as a kid." Bonnie said, leaning against a table near their lane.

"I think I've only done it once, maybe twice. My family has never been very kid friendly, even when we were kids." Damon replied as he stepped over to her.

She nodded slowly, not sure how to respond to that. It was kind of sad that he had to grow up in such a serious family. She had two, but it wasn't as serious, she was a spearhead of a company or even the most talked about of her family. Her father and her disappeared mother were talked about more than her.

But, this was a reason she married Damon, right? To get herself more publicity.

"So, we'll go against each other. Do you want to go first?" she asked him.

"You can go first, if you want." Damon told her and she shrugged, walking over to the lane.

Bonnie put her fingers in the ball and got into potion, focusing for a few second before drawing her arm backwards, swing it forwards and letting go of the ball.

The ball rolled straight down the middle, hitting the first pin and all the pins went knocking over quickly.

Damon blinked, "Guess those skills crossed over to adulthood huh?"

"You're up." Bonnie chuckled and leaned against a beam.

She watched Damon walk over, put his fingers in the ball and stand in a position that wasn't anywhere near right. When he moved his arm forward and let go of the ball, it went down the middle for a fraction of a second before veering to the left and hitting one pin on the outside, leaving 9 still there.

Bonnie bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself from saying anything.

Damon turned around, expecting her to be laughing but she was just standing there.

"See I told you, once or twice."

"No, that was okay. I'm sure you'll get them on your second one." Bonnie insisted, and motioned him to grab his ball from the return and go again.

Damon sighed and once again, practically tossed the ball down the lane and somehow, it stopped inches from the center of the pins, veered off to the right and hit two pins on the outside, leaving more than half still there.

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek as he turned around to face her, with a flat look on his face.

"That was good." she lied, a laugh bubbling up inside her chest.

"Really?" he asked her, knowing she was lying.

She couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Oh my God, no." Bonnie started to laugh.

"It was terrible!" she shook, putting a hand on her face, her smile wide as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Damon crossed his arms over his chest and moved away from the lane as more pins were set down.

"Okay, okay. Just go do your turn, hot shot." he sat back down at the table.

Bonnie inhaled, calming her laughter as much as possible before getting her ball from the return and getting in position at the front of the lane.

Slowly moving her arm forward, the ball rolled smoothly down the lane, at first veering to the left, but quickly hooked over and hit dead center, knocking all the spins down, for her second strike.

"You've got to be kidding me." Damon said standing up and she turned around, smiling.

"Incase you've already lost track, that makes us 3 to 20." Bonnie said with a chuckle as she stepped back over to him.

"Well it's going to end 3 to 300 at this rate." he rolled his eyes.

"Whoa, spoiler alert." she teased and watched him get his ball from the return and walk over, a lot less enthusiastic, if that was even possible.

Damon rolled the ball down the lane, and it hit towards the right side, knocking down 3 pins.

"Oh, look, 3." he said sarcastically as she turned back around to face her.

Bonnie shook her head, "Come on, you still have your second turn."

"Spoiler alert, it's going to look the same." Damon said put his hands out to the side and she rolled her eyes walking over and getting his ball from the return.

"You just need to work on it." she placed the ball back in his hands.

Bonnie stood next to him and watched as he started to pull his arm back to roll the ball.

"Okay, wait a hot minute, you're not even in a good starting position." she chuckled and moved to him.

"Put your foot here." Bonnie told him and he listened.

Moving to the side of him, she pressed the side of her face against the side of his arm.

"You need to, step into the swing. Ball moves out, then down, then back then out." she reached forward to put her hand on Damon's and move his arm back, down then forward to show him.

As Damon looked down at her, this was when he realized, just how short she was. The top of her head ended an inch or so below his shoulder and she had to lean forward just to be able to guide his hands because her arms were so short.

He'd never been with a girl as short as her, the shortest girl being 5'7 and even though he was 6'1, they never seemed that short. But, Bonnie was... she was quiet possibly the cutest woman he'd ever seen. Maybe it was cliché, but the whole being a foot taller than her, actually made him feel... lets just say, intense.

Bonnie's cheek pressed against his arm and she looked up at him.

"Alright, do you got it?" she asked.

"I think so." he replied and she back away a little.

Damon did what she had told him, stepping into the swing and inhaled a little before he finally let go of the ball.

The ball rushed forward, a lot smoother than it had, hitting the center of the remaining pins and they call clattered as they fell.

"See, I told you!" Bonnie smiled, and hopped a little on her toes.

Damon turned around, his lips turning up in a small, crooked smirk.

"I'll listen to you more often." he teased and she shook her head.

"My turn again." Bonnie grabbed her ball, and waited for the pins to get reset.

* * *

Believe it or not, 5 hours later at 3:30 and they were on their 10th game, with Bonnie having won 5 already, Damon winning 4 of them believe it not.

"This is our last game." Damon told her as she hopped up from the table, somehow still excited even after 10 games.

"Sure." she teased as she grabbed her ball fro the return.

"I'm serious this time, we were supposed to eat 2 hours ago." he rubbed the side of his face.

"Okay!" Bonnie waved him off and rolled the ball down the lane, hitting 9 pins, only missing one.

"Ugh!" she groaned, waiting for the ball to get to the return.

"You got this." Damon said from several feet way as he chuckled, shaking his head and leaning against the beam.

Bonnie hurled the ball down the lane, missing the pin and slapping her hands on the top of her head once.

"Stupid pin." she grumbled and turned back around.

"Hey, you still won, I'm 98, you're 151." he said to her and she tilted her head.

"True, and I won 6 games you won 4, so, I win over all." Bonnie grinned.

"Haha!" she laughed and did a fist in the air real quick.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Alright, champion, let's get the shoes back so we can get some food."

Bonnie gave him a look before taking the bowling shoes off, putting her own shoes back on and walking over to the front window with him and setting the shoes on the counter.

"Thanks, hope you two had fun." the man at the counter said to them.

Damon walked out with Bonnie into the hallway and breathed in some air that didn't smell like bowling shoes and floor wax.

"I take it you don't get out much to do normal people things." Bonnie observed and he raised an eyebrow.

"What gave it away?" he asked sarcastically.

"NO idea." she replied and raked a hand through her wavy hair.

Damon shrugged, "So, where do you want to get food?"

"Oh, we can go to the Ressio room, they have music, sometimes comedians, the foods nice." she suggested as they walked.

He nodded and she lead the way to the Ressio.

The place was dimly lit, with a mix of cushioned armchairs and wooden chairs, with tables and hanging circle lights. In the front was a stage, where a women with a guitar was singing.

"Oh, over here." Bonnie said, walking over to a table with two arm chairs and sitting in one. Damon sat in the other, several feet to the side of her.

Several moments later and a waitress came to take their drink and food orders.

"I don't think I've ever spent 5 hours doing something like bowling before." Damon mused, taking a drink from his glass of coke.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "Really? You've never went skating, sledding, played arcade games or anything for 5 hours?"

"Nope." Damon shook his head and she blinked.

"Wow, I mean 5 hours really isn't even that long." she replied, tapping her straw on her bottom lip.

"Well I have been to 5 hour long ballets, 5 hour long business meetings, 5 hour long charity balls, and parties... you get the drift." Damon chuckled and ran his fork along his plate of food.

"I've definitely been to 5 hour long ballets, obviously. And, parties but I can't imagine a business meeting." Bonnie brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

Damon nodded as the waitress stepped over.

"May I take your plates?" she asked and they both nodded.

She took their plates and smiled "Alright, can I refill your soda's or get you something different?"

"A bottle of bourbon would be fantastic." Damon replied and Bonnie chuckled.

"At, 4:30 in the afternoon?" she asked, and Damon shrugged.

"I'll get you the bottle and two glasses." The waitress said slowly and walked away with their plates and empty soda's glasses.

Bonnie pursed her lips, looking away and wondered what she'd be doing had she decided not to marry Damon. It was an innocent thought, but one she knew she needed to let go of.

"Here you go." the waitress said after a few moments, setting the bourbon down and two glasses, that looked more like short wine glasses, but it didn't matter.

Damon thanked her and opened the bottle.

"So, I take it bourbon is your favorite?" Bonnie asked him, and he looked up at her as he poured some into a glass.

"I suppose it is." he replied.

"Would you like some?" he asked.

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek, "Why not." she chuckled and he poured her some.

Taking a drink, she felt the familiar burn of bourbon she hadn't felt since the night she'd first technically met Damon. She'd drank since then, but not bourbon.

Standing up, she moved to sit on the arm of his chair.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked her, looking up at her.

"Revisiting a memory." she told him and he smirked a little.

"Ah, yes. The good old time you drank my bourbon and sat in my seat." he chuckled and took a drink of his own.

"Get used to it." Bonnie teased and tilted her glass to her lips.

The comedian on the stage had just finished telling a joke when the room went silent again after some laughter.

"Alright, do we have any newly weds in here?" he asked, and 4 couples raised their hands but Bonnie and Damon weren't one of them.

"Hey, what about you two?" he said, and pointed, someone started to walk over to them with a microphone.

Bonnie's face went flat, "Well, that was a set up." she whispered.

"How did he even know..." she wondered.

"I'm going to take a wild guess here, but, I'm thinking Tamara the check in lady." Damon chuckled as the microphone finally got to them.

"Newly weds huh?" the comedian asked.

"Yup." Damon said into the microphone, as Bonnie sat there kind of uncomfortable with eyes on them.

"What are your names?"

"Ah, Damon." he replied and Bonnie leaned over a little.

"Bonnie."

"Oh, well hello to you two! How long have you been married?" he asked them.

"Just a day." Damon answered.

"Oh, a day! That's half as long as most marriages now adays." the guy joked, and several chuckles came from the crowd.

It was clear the guy was done talking to them, as he veered off into a story about his own marriage.

Damon clicked the microphone off and held it down at his lap.

Leaning over he smiled and spoke to Bonnie quietly.

"There are two paparazzi here, on at noon and and one at 4."

Bonnie blinked, "Wait, what how do they know we're here?" she asked.

"Just, smile." he told her through his teeth.

Bonnie continued to smile, even though her cheeks were hurting. She suddenly felt Damon press his lips to the side of her head.

"Pretend I'm saying something cute." Damon whispered in her ear and she changed up her smile a little.

After several moments, two people walked out of the Russio room about the same time and Damon leaned away.

"They're gone." he said, casually taking a drink; as if it was perfectly normal to be in a pretend relationship.

"They must've followed us from the wedding." Bonnie sighed and downed the rest of her drink quickly, pouring some more.

"You should've expected that." Damon said quietly, pouring himself a second glass and downing it just as quickly as her.

"Oh, because you did?" she asked, drinking the rest of her second and pouring a third. Their drinking was taking quick spiral from casual drinking to day time shots, except the shots weren't shots, they were wine glasses half full of $300 bourbon.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, actually."

"Good for you." she shook her head and suddenly felt like the mood had changed as well, it was tense all the sudden and she was kind of annoyed.

"The paparazzi are everywhere, especially now. A couple like doesn't just get married and not followed." he explained and turned his head away to take a drink.

"You mean, you don't just get married and not followed." Bonnie said slowly.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked, looking back over at her.

"You're the reason they're here. If it was me, married to some normal guy, they wouldn't be here. But, you could be married to a trash bin and they'd still be here." she sighed and moved back over to sit in her own chair.

"That's ridiculous." he insisted.

"Not, it's not. The reason, you expected them to be here, and I didn't, is because you expected them to be following you." Bonnie said, and he furrowed his brow.

"That definitely isn't true." Damon said, getting frustrated.

"So, you don't have an established expectation that paparazzi will be every where you are?" she asked, and he blinked, looking away and downing another glass.

Bonnie did the same and by the time they even spoke again, both of them were fairly buzzed, and it was almost 6pm.

"Maybe I should just go back to the room." she said slowly, feeling a little calmer.

"If you want." was all Damon said and she pursed her lips.

"Look, I didn't mean to assume something again." Bonnie spoke, tapping her fingers on her empty glass before pouring another.

"No, I mean, you're not completely wrong, I'm used to it, I guess I do expect it." he replied, looking over at her.

"Lets just, move on from that topic then." Bonnie sighed.

"Damon?" a female voice came from several feet away.

Damon blinked, and when he looked around, to the right of him, he saw the last person he even really wanted to see.

"Damon!" a tall women with bleach blonde hair, and brown eyes came walking over the table.

"Lucia." Damon said slowly, eying her.

"I knew that was you." she spoke, with a minor Australian accent.

Bonnie looked over, a tad confused.

"Who might you be?" Lucia asked, with a smile as she looked over at Bonnie.

"Bonnie..." she started, then added, "Damon's wife."

Lucia blinked, "Oh, yes! I had heard you got married yesterday. I guess it was true." the woman smiled.

"So, you're Lucia, huh?" Bonnie asked, curious.

"Yes, Lucia Dulcie. Damon and I dated about, a year back." she responded.

Bonnie nodded, suddenly a lot less curious.

"Oh, I see." she smiled a little.

"For 8 months, of course, on and off the last years before, probably... what do you say, Damon? Maybe 14 months all together?" Lucia asked, smiling but her eyes were full on 'I'm better than you' mode.

"Sure." Damon replied, looking at the women.

In reality, she was gorgeous. She was, exactly what every single man in the business catogory wanted, a trophy. She was tall, blonde, and good in bed, but her flaw? She was the queen, of sleeping with married men.

Damon had 'dated' her for 14 months collectively, but during that time, he was positive she was 'dating' a senator and 'debriefing' a company rival.

"I bet your wedding was beautiful." Lucia smiled, leaning against the table, and honestly, Damon would be lying if he said that the buzzed, slightly annoyed version of himself, was... thinking of some inappropriate things.

Seeing Lucia, was essentially a wave of his past, coming straight up to him and then stopping, waiting for his permission before crashing into him.

"It was." Bonnie replied, noticing the way she spoke to him, angled her body, tilted her head.

It was obvious that she didn't care he was married, and this kind of bothered Bonnie, however, Damon didn't seem to be acting the same way, and Lucia wasn't touching him, or offering him anything. So, Bonnie figured, it didn't really matter.

Lucia didn't know they were 'fake married', Bonnie was sure that, the women wouldn't really offer someone she thought was in love and married, herself. Surely.

"I'll have to get some pictures." Lucia chuckled and Bonnie nodded.

Looking away, Bonnie took a sip of her drink, her head kind of dizzy, and she knew she was passed buzzed at this point.

"Well, I'll see you some other time." Lucia said a little quieter, and as Bonnie started to turn her head back, she saw Lucia slide something to Damon, a card, or a rectangle piece of paper, she wasn't sure.

The next few hours could have gone completely different. If Damon had given the card back to her, or crumpled the card, or toss it on the floor, or even ripped it in half.

However, in the corner of her eye that Bonnie was able to see from, she watched as he did none of these things.

Bonnie watched as Damon took the card in his hand, slid it along the table until the edge underneath his hand and then put it in the pocket of his button shirt.

She turned her head quickly the other way, so neither of them would notice, and Lucia walked away, out of the room.

Damon looked over at Bonnie just as she looked back and down her almost full drink, so quickly that her chest hurt.

"That was a surprise." he chuckled and she shifted her jaw.

"Oh? Because she certainly didn't seem to be surprised. " Bonnie replied rather sharply and he blinked.

"Um." Damon said slowly, watching as she poured more.

"Honestly, I think she half expected you to follow her out." she said, pouring herself another glass.

"Alright, I think you've had enough." he pulled the glass away from her.

"Then, you'd b-be wrong." Bonnie yanked it away from him, her tongue feeling heavy at her words.

"I really don't think so." Damon said, knowing he was rather intoxicated as well, but Bonnie seemed upset, not just drunk.

Bonnie stood up quickly, which was a bad idea because she tumbled to the side a little, grabbing onto the table to keep herself from falling.

"Whatever, I'm going to... back to the room." she huffed, feeling really heavy, dizzy, and kind of offended by Lucia and Damon's exchange.

Damon stood up as well, better balanced than her.

"I'll go to then." he said slowly, pulling his wallet out, tossing enough money on the table to pay and tip for the food and drinks.

Bonnie headed out of the room, legs a little shaky.

"You don't need to, I'm p-perfectly capable." she said as he followed behind her.

"Yeah sure." Damon rolled his eyes, and moved forward to grab onto her shoulder as she almost trip over her own feet.

"See, you almost killed yourself." he chuckled, and this seemed to only make things worse.

Once they had gotten in the elevator and upstairs to the room, Bonnie instantly kicked her shoes off and huffed as she sat down on the bed.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused now as he closed the door behind him, flipping the light switch on.

"Nothing, nothing's going on. That's the point, were a sham, a lie, a money grab couple." Bonnie breathed, waving her arm around in the air.

Damon took several steps forward, "Bonnie, you're just drunk."

"Okay, enough with that, I know I am, you're drunk too, idiot." she hissed at him, and he raised his eyebrows.

Bonnie stood up, swallowing, "I know I'm drunk, but I'm not so drunk that I just, don't notice anything."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"We... we're a lie, a marriage for piblicity, but Lucia doesn't know that." Bonnie started.

"Lucia think's, we care about each other, she thinks we dated for months, that we decided to get married and then got married because we care each other... about each other... that much." Bonnie's head was spinning as she spoke.

"I don't understand where this is going." Damon said, putting a hand on the side of his head.

"Lucia thinks we're married, for.. like seriously... She thinks we're a serious couple. Yet, she had no problem flirting with you, leaning on the table and just, pouring her eyes like water." Bonnie inhaled, trying to gather her thoughts which was quite difficult.

"Lucia knows you're a married man, I'm your wife, and she... she just slid you a card, or paper, or whatever, and practically invited you to her room. I'm your wife, I was right there, and she didn't.. didn't even care."

Damon blinked, very quickly realizing she had seen that happened and opened his mouth to speak but she was already talking again.

Bonnie ran a hand through her hair, "That's... that's not even the part that upsets m-me the... most." she slurred a little.

"I'm your wife, and you're my husband, but you... you took the card. You just, slid it along the table, and right into, into your pocket it went." her breath hurt in her lungs.

Damon swallowed, "I never intended on meeting her, Bonnie." he insisted.

Bonnie laughed, "I don't even doubt that, I don't." she laughed again, but it was a happy laugh.

"I'm serious, I'm right here, I'm not... there... I came, b-back here with you." he said to her taking another step forward.

"But, you're not here because we... we are married." she breathed, feeling heavy.

"I think the only reason, you're not with her right now, is because... of the paparazzi, because, t-they could ruin the entire scheme with just" Bonnie hiccuped, "... one photo of you and her."

Damon swallowed, "I'm not there with her, because I'm just not." he said, even though he knew that didn't helped anything.

"Just, seriously, you could go there, right now, the paparazzi are probably g-gone. So, w-why don't you do what you want?" she asked, and his forehead crinkled.

"Okay, yes, I was thinking about it. I'm, that kind of guy. I'm the kind of man who enjoys women, who sometimes sleeps with women just to sleep w-with them." he started, taking a few steps closer.

"I might... may, be flawed in that way, but I'm not-t stupid. I'm not so stupid, that I'd throw away all the work that has been put into the 'lie' of this marriage as you call it; just for a few hours with a w-women who has no respect for anyone's relationships. Maybe, maybe before our arrangement, I would have slept with her." Damon admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"However, this marriage might be a lie, but it's still a marriage, an... it's important, for both of our families and I'm n-not going to fuck it up that easily."

Bonnie just looked at him, her eyes kind of blurry, and her ears ringing from her intoxication.

"Fine." she said, and stood there in silence another moment.

"What did she give you?" she asked, finally and he sighed.

"Bonnie..." Damon started.

"No, just, what did she give you?"

Damon pulled the object from his pocket, and extended his arm, handing it to Bonnie.

Bonnie looked down at it, and honestly, shouldn't have been surprised that it was a key card to her room.

"Key card to her room... Great." she breathed, looking up.

"I was never going to go see her." he repeated.

"I don't care, you still took it." Bonnie said, looking away from him.

"Just... Like, I s-said..." Damon breathed.

"No, stop, I don't want to listen anymore. I just don't." she said, her head hurting, her drunk self feeling like she was going to kick a wall, or jump out of a window.

"Fine." he replied, angry now.

Bonnie watched as he turned and opened the door to the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, taking several steps forward.

"Taking a walk, is that a problem?" he slurred.

"Okay, yo..you know what, go... Go wander the halls drunk." Bonnie turned away from the door and heard it close behind him.

Bonnie couldn't think clearly, she didn't even know what was going on in her head. If she hadn't been so drunk, she wouldn't have reacted that way. The conversation would've been more mature, more adult.

Instead, because of the alcohol, it was painful and difficult to process.

This being proved the stupid decision she made next, to sit down on the bed, scoot over towards the night stand and pick up the receiver of the phone.

Pressing her fingers against the buttons, she then leaned against the headboard and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" her father's voice came from the other end.

"Daddy, I'm... calling you like you said." Bonnie spoke, a little slower, attempting to keep her words together.

"Oh, Bonnie. I tried calling your phone but, it must be off... Damon's parents have been calling me for hours, you guys skipped out on your trip to Italy?" Rudy asked.

Bonnie licked her lips, "Uh, y-ea, we're at the Onyx." she replied.

"Oh, okay... Is everything alright?" he asked her, and she scratched her head.

"E-everything is... weird and it's frustrating. A-and.." Bonnie couldn't get her thoughts out the right way.

There was a brief moment of silence, "Are you drunk?" he father asked, seeming a little amused, slightly worried.

"I-I am, super drunk, yes." she replied, rubbing at the side of her face.

"Maybe you should call me, and tell me what's going on once you get some rest, sweetheart." Rudy told her and she sighed.

"Okay, I guess... I love you." Bonnie said with her mouth way to close to the phone.

"I love you." he replied and Bonnie hung up the phone, missing the receiver the first time.

Bonnie grumbled and stood up, shakily making her way to the kitchen where she poured cold coffee into a mug, pouring creamer in and sticking it in the microwave for 2 minutes.

"Bourbon m-makes me crazy, note to self." she whispered, not liking the sadness that was building in her chest.

Bonnie was reminded why she hadn't drank much since the night of her birthday. Alcohol had the unfortunate effect of making her anxiety and insecurities much worse, if she drank too much of it.

One level of drunk, which was a notch passed slightly buzzed and she was calm, mellow, happy but too much, too drunk, and all the sudden everything hurt her way more than it normally would.

"Drink responsibly... failed." she mumbled as the microwave beeped and she pulled the mug out.

Walking over to the bed, she sat down and blew on the coffee, slowly sipping it.

Alcohol was always this romanticized thing, it still is, she knew it. On television, in movies, at parties, college. When she turned 21, she was most excited about being able to drink, Caroline was most excited about Bonnie finally being able to drink, since Caroline had turned 21 several months before.

But she was quickly learning that it wasn't fun, it wasn't cool, it wasn't nice or soothing to drink until you can't think. If anything it was frustrating. Not being able to speak correctly, get your thoughts out correctly, feel correctly.

Bonnie honestly felt upset with herself for being so careless with her intake. Damon, was his own man, she couldn't judge him for his intake, she didn't know what was really doing on, why he drank. But, she did know that, she really shouldn't let being around someone who drank more than one or two, start to affect how much she drank.

After the coffee was gone, she laid on her back on the bed and wondered, if this was what it was like to actually be an adult. Realizing things you once thought were great, are actually really shitty and terrible for you in over consumption.

"Ugh." Bonnie groaned, laying her arm over her face.

However, she knew, and she wasn't going to lie to herself. This wasn't going to be the last time she was drunk. Because, even once you realize something probably isn't the best idea, you never completely give it up.

* * *

It wasn't until hours later, that Bonnie heard the door handle jiggle and she lay staring at the ceiling in Damon's shirt once more.

Light from the hallway poured in, as she had the light off even though she wasn't sleeping.

"It's dark." Damon said slowly, as closed the door behind him.

"That's because I wanted it that way." she replied and hear his foot steps along the floor.

She wasn't really drunk anymore, with half a pot of coffee in her stomach, and god knows how many hours of staring into nothing.

The room was cold and so quiet that you could faintly hear the sound of cars on the main road near the hotel.

"Are you sober or did you find another bottle?" Bonnie asked him through the darkness, not even sure of where he was in the room.

"Believe it or not, I'm sober. Walking around the building and then falling asleep on a bench in the vending machine area, will do things for a man." Damon replied and as he searched around for the light switch that was a dimmer switch.

Once he found it, he turned it slowly, just enough so the light was dim but he could see Bonnie now.

Bonnie turned her head to look at him standing several feet from the bed, and noticed his hat was gone.

"Where's your hat?" she asked casually.

"I have no idea. Probably on a stairwell." he sighed.

Bonnie shrugged, "Oh well."

"You hated it." Damon said to her and she blinked, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, it was stupid."

It was silent for a second, "But, you liked it. So, that sucks." she added.

Damon who wasn't really sure how to go about bringing up the topic of their previous drunk fight, sat down on the side of bed.

"Is now a bad time to mention that time, we both freaked out a little bit and then I walked out, fell asleep on a bench and lost my favorite hat?" he asked.

Bonnie looked over and up at him.

"Oh, you mean earlier this evening when you took Lucia's room key card but, didn't really plan on using it?"

Damon sighed, and looked down, "Okay, I deserved that. But, I really wasn't."

Bonnie frowned a little, "I think I knew that... I do know that. We had both drank to much, and something that should've just been a conversation turned into an attack."

Damon nodded, "It did."

"Now that, I can actually think, I know what I want to say." she sighed, sitting up in the bed and leaning against the head board.

"Go ahead." he told her.

"Our marriage was arranged, it was sudden, yesterday is not only the day I married you, but the first time I truly met you." Bonnie started.

"The past 24 hours have been really difficult for me, and when I saw her just, openly give you her room card, and you took it, like it was nothing..." she cleared her throat.

"Pretty much, what I'm saying is, it seems like it doesn't matter that we're married. As though, in the reality of it, it just doesn't even matter."

Damon's forehead creased and he turned a little more to face her.

"It does matter, or we wouldn't be married. It's my fault that you think it doesn't."

Bonnie folded her arms over her chest as she looked down a little.

"You were right, about what you said when we were fighting. I did take the card, like it was nothing. I shouldn't have done that. Drunk or sober, I should have left there, and forgot about." Damon admitted, which was something he wasn't entirely accustom too, but he seemed to be doing a lot of things he wouldn't normally.

"You are completely, right, you're my wife, Bonnie. We might not have a romantic or sexual aspect but, that doesn't change the fact that I married you and not only did I marry you, but you actually without evening knowing who you were going to marry, married me." he swallowed, and she looked up at him, furrowing her brows.

"I've never been a husband before, and this is probably temporary, but what happened with Lucia, what happened with our fight, that's not the kind of husband I want to be. That guy is who I was just 24 hours ago, but it's not 24 hours ago, it's right now. And now, I'm your husband. That guy, the guy you are upset with, isn't a guy I'm proud to be, and I was wrong for thinking it was okay." Damon looked into her face and decided to just be honest.

Bonnie took a moment to think about her words, "It was wrong of you, but I understand. This is a really big change."

Damon nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"You did.. ah, you did warn me." she spoke, the edges of her lips turning up.

"You told you, you're intense, troubled, rigid." Bonnie stated his words from that morning.

"That I did." he replied.

"I guess, now I know how intense." she chuckled, and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I am sorry, Bonnie." Damon told her, seriously.

Bonnie inhaled, "I forgive you. It's a waste of time to dwell on it anyway."

Damon's lips pulled up at the corners and he chuckled.

"What?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side.

"Sometimes, I forget how good it feel to be an adult. I get lost in the money aspect, the alcohol, the business. When, maybe the most rewarding part of being an adult is just... being mature enough to admit you're wrong, being mature enough to forgive someone who was wrong." he explained, his blue eyes getting a little bit brighter.

"I think the older you get, the more you realize that doing what's right is a lot less painful than being spiteful." Bonnie mused and leaned her head backwards

It was silent for a moment, and neither of them really knew what to speak about, they were both tired and cold, head's aching.

"I think, if I'm honest..." Bonnie started after a moment.

"That I like the intense. But, there's a difference between, angry and passionate. Intense is nice, but it depends which kind." she was mostly just speaking a loud, not to Damon, not to anyone in particular just voicing what was on her mind.

Damon licked his lower lip.

"Intense is... alluring, that's why. Everyone gets a little... bothered, when there's tension involved." he whispered, instantly making the situation intense and Bonnie knew he was doing this on purpose.

"And, you know that I like it. You try and talk about it, like it's supposed to scare me but, you know that you enjoy that part of yourself too." Bonnie replied quietly, her emerald eyes running over his face.

"But, I also know it makes you uncomfortable, and that's not my angle." Damon sighed and she pursed her lips.

"Eventually, I... might not be uncomfortable." she said honestly.

"Are you uncomfortable because... you like the idea, and you think you shouldn't. Or, are you uncomfortable because you don't like the idea?" Damon asked, genuinely curious.

Bonnie ran her fingers along the blanket on her lap, "I'm not going to answer that."

"Alright, I respect that." he replied and stood up from the bed.

Walking over to the stand near the light switch he grabbed something and walked back over to the bed.

"I got you these, from the gift store." Damon said, handing her a tissue paper wrapped soft object and she raised an eyebrow.

Bonnie removed the tissue paper, and saw that it was fleece pajama pants, and long sleeve shirt, dark red with black dots on them, and butt pockets on the pants that had 'Onyx' on them.

"I know, you need pajamas, because Caroline switched yours out with lingerie, and I figured it was a little weird for you, sleeping in my shirt." he explained and she looked over at him smiling.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it." Bonnie said, running a hand through her hair.

"Why don't, you shower, and then I'll shower, then we should both get some rest." she suggested and he nodded.

"Good idea." Damon nodded and grabbed his pajamas and such from his bag and made his way into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Bonnie sat here, listening to the shower run, and waiting for some Tylenol she took to kick in. Damon was different, he was difficult, and kind of intimidating but he was also troubled and trying to adjust to this new life; in that respect, they were the same.

About ten minutes later and Damon came walking from the bathroom, wearing flannel pajama pants, and a white t-shirt, his hair damp and wavy, curling at the ends near his forehead.

Bonnie got up from the bed, and took her pajamas with her into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She didn't know how long her shower was, of course she spent a few moments staring at the wall, a little bit lost in her sleepiness. Thankfully the steam was helping her headache, either that or the medicine kicked in.

The hot water warmed up her cold skin and she attempted to let it clean those stupid drunk memories away as much as possible. Stepping out of the shower, she dried off, put her underwear and new pajamas on, which thankfully were stretchy and actually fit her.

After combing her hair, she just tied it up, since she didn't feel like drying it completely and wrapping it.

When she turned the bathroom light off and opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see that the light was off, and it was pitch black in the room.

Finding her way to the bed, she noticed Damon was lying in it, with his pillow and covers.

Lying down, she pullet her own blanket over her body quickly, as the room was still cold. She would've went and turned on the heating but she'd probably just wake up sweating eventually if she did that.

Nuzzling her face in the pillow, she could see Damon through the darkness just barely, his eyes closed, breathing slowly.

"I'm awake." Damon mumbled and it startled her a bit, she jumped.

He chuckled, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Bonnie sighed, "It's fine, I shouldn't have been staring at you."

She rubbed at her face and blinked her eyes tiredly.

"I forgive you." Damon said quietly, eyes still closed and smiled a little.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and shifted her feet around in her blanket.

"I like the pajamas." she said after a second, and his eyes opened, blue shining over at her.

"That's good." he replied, before closing his eyes again.

Bonnie rolled over facing away from him, and closed her eyes. However, after several moments of ignoring the goose bumps on her skin and the urge to get up and turn on the heater, she was feeling restless. She didn't want to get out of bed, or move, or anything.

Rolling back over with a small huff, she buried her face back in the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut, and tightening the blanket around her self, trying to force herself to fall back asleep.

Damon still wasn't sleep, although he would've been had she not been tossing and turning.

He opened his eyes sleepily, seeing her with her face pushed into the pillow, brow furrowed, clutching at the duvet.

"Are you cold?" he asked, fighting the heaviness of his eyelids.

Bonnie's opened her eyes slowly and the green of them shown to him.

"I might be." she replied, her head hurting again.

"And my head hurt again, and I can't sleep."

Damon chuckled, lying sideways, and reached a hand out to touch her shoulder from the foot or so away she was lying.

"That was three things, but alright." he patted her shoulder and moved his arm back into his own space.

Bonnie just looked at him for several moment, one of her eyes closed, the other opened and sighed.

Damon's eyes closed, and she was sure he was going to fall asleep, and then she'd be there cold, and in pain and restless.

Bonnie exhaled, and moved over, eliminating the space between them and without warning, laid against him, with her face against the front of his chest and shoulder.

Damon's eyes opened, surprised and he looked down at her.

"Is this okay?" she asked, just wanting to be warm, and sleep.

"Yeah." he replied, and watched as she closed her eyes.

A moment later, when she was half asleep, Damon carefully fixed the blanket to where they were both underneath the two blankets instead of separately under just one. Wrapping an arm around her body, he turned a little so he could wrap the other one around her.

"Is that alright?" he asked her.

"Mhm." Bonnie replied, too tired to think, and her face pressed against his neck.

Damon closed his eyes and leaned his face against her hair.


	6. Even Strong Men Carry Heavy Burdens

**A/N:** I just really want to thank you guys for all the support with this story. I really did not expect it. When I first got the idea for this fic, I was hesitant and unsure. Especially since it's not like your usual fic and is on a slightly more serious note sometimes. I'm so glad you seem to like it!

 _ **Chapter 6 -** Even Strong Men Carry Heavy Burdens _

When Bonnie's eyelids fluttered open, the light that came pouring into her eyes was dim but painful. Licking her lips, she inhaled and a small sound of sleepiness escaped her lips. It took her mind a few moments to process the events of the night before but as soon as she did, she exhaled.

Feeling a warm solid figure press up against the back of her body she blinked slightly confused and turned her head a little. Seeing Damon lying behind her, one of his arms above his head and the other along the side of his body, she fished for more memories in her mind.

Bonnie wasn't extremely sure but she could remember being cold and ungodly tired, which did sort of explain how close they were. But, most of all she remembered the ridiculous amount of alcohol she had drank, and the sharp pain in her temporal lobe definitely wasn't going let her forget it.

"You awake?" Damon's voice came from behind her, quiet and slightly gruff.

Bonnie closed her eyes, "Barely." she replied.

"Hmmhmm." he breathed as he twisted his torso a little forwards.

"That's interesting, tell me more." Bonnie mumbled sarcastically, which invoked a chuckle from the man.

His breath blew against the back of her neck, and she pulled away, clearing her throat.

"What time is it?" Damon asked her rolling onto his back and scrubbing a hand over his face.

Bonnie moved, laying a foot or so away from him and put an arm over her face.

"I don't know, I hardly remember falling asleep last night." she sighed.

"That means you slept good." he said, inhaling and sitting up in the bed, the blankets falling downwards towards his lap.

"No, it means this hangover is going to be extra annoying." Bonnie grumbled, moving her arm away from her face and slowly opening her eyes again.

Damon tried to ignore the pain in is own head and stretched his arms up in the air.

"Are you cold?" he asked after a moment and she looked over at him.

"Huh?" she asked, sitting up as well, and leaning against the headboard.

"Last night, you were really cold." Damon explained.

"Oh, is that why you were so close to me?" Bonnie asked, kicking the blankets away from her feet.

"You were the one who laid with me, actually." he replied, running a hand through his dark tousled hair.

She nodded a little and folded her arms over her chest, wondering if it was always going to be this awkward; waking up beside Damon. The previous night had been a temporary lapse of care, and not wanting to freeze. Sure, they were married but the fact of the matter was, they'd known each other for 2 almost 3 days now and Bonnie wasn't the type of women to get chummy with a man that easily. Maybe she had once before but, this was different. The stranger she'd slept with, was just a memory as soon as morning came. She had to look at Damon everyday, and talk to him for God knows how long.

So, okay it was cuddling, but cuddling with a man that looked like heaven with the devils eyes.

"You look unsettled" Damon noted, scratching along the top of his chest where his shirt went down in a V.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "No, I just, was a little surprised to wake up with you lying against me."

"I see." he said slowly, his icy blue eyes piercing into the side of her face, she could 'literally' feel the holes forming in her skin.

"I think we both need coffee, don't you?" she asked him, turning her head and meeting his eye contact.

Damon nodded, "I could drink some coffee."

"Alright, you go make it." Bonnie yawned and leaned her head against the headboard, closing her eyes.  
"Me? You're the one who brought it up." his voice beside her.

"You're the one who is the reason for my hang over, so..." she said back at him, and a quiet, chuckle came from him; a mixture of amusement and regret.

Bonnie felt the bed move as Damon got up. Walking slowly, he made his way into the kitchen, flipping on a light switch and grabbing the coffee can.

The fight the night before or, technically early that morning, was expected but not new to him. He'd done shitty things before, gotten into arguments with women before, it wasn't something he enjoyed, but it certainly wasn't a surprise.

Yet, he felt a little different about the fight him and Bonnie had gotten into. He wasn't entirely sure why but, his head hurt too much to think about it.

Damon heard quiet footsteps along the carpet, and as he turned his head away from the brewing coffee pot, he saw Bonnie in all her tininess standing at the door frame.

"You look like a Who on Christmas morning in those pajamas." he remarked and she just looked at him with an unamused blank face.

"I am not that short." Bonnie grumbled as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Your head stops at my shoulders." Damon chuckled, turning around and leaning against the counter.

"Maybe you're just a giant." she said as her are feet made little sounds against the tile flooring.

He rolled his eyes and watched as she opened the cabinet where the coffee mugs were. She stood upwards onto her tiptoes, stretching an arm up and her fingers stopped a full row short of the row that the mugs were on.

Damon crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his face a little and just watched her, amusingly.

Bonnie struggled, her fingers wiggling as she attempted to make herself taller to reach the mugs but, she'd stretched just about as much as possible. Tipping to the side a little, she knocked her head against the side of the cabinet door.

"Shit..." she whispered, getting off her tiptoes and rubbing her head.

"I got it." Damon said, stepping over and grabbing two mugs from the cabinet and closing it.

Once he set them down on the counter he looked at her.

"You alright there half-pint?" he asked, his lips turning up at one corner crookedly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Sasquatch."

"Oh, ouch." Damon put a hand over his heart and stepped back over to lean on the other counter.

He suddenly, realized why the fight with her was different, felt different. Because unlike other women, Bonnie wasn't afraid to bite back at him, hold her ground; let him know when he was wrong.

She reached behind her head to pull her hair from the hair tie, and Damon watched as she shook her head, sending her hair flowing around her soft tired face in curls and waves.

"Anything you'd like to do today?" he asked her, then added, "Please, don't say bowling."

Bonnie scratched at her head, "Ehh, I don't know. I want to just, sit around the room for a bit though, at least till my headache goes away."

"Sitting around the room it is." Damon agreed, and she looked over at him.

"Really? I don't want to bore you. After all, you seem to have a thing for drinking and making people uncomfortable. We could do that again?" Bonnie teased.

Damon chuckled a little and shook his head.

"No, but seriously, you don't have to sit in the room with me." she said less jokingly.

He pursed his lips, "Just, think of it as a second way to apologize. I pissed you off, so now I'm making up for it."

Damon look over at her, his face much more serious, with stubble that was a day or two late from being trimmed and his sharply jawline making him look even more intense.

"I see." Bonnie replied, feeling a little warmer.

She was noticing that the man went from, light hearted, and amused to.. intense and dangerous eyed very quickly, and it was... well.. it was making it difficult for her to breath if she was honest.

Damon was complicated yet, not at all, and still very confusing. He was smiling one second, joking and then... looking down at her, with piercing eyes and serious tone of voice, practically emitting steam, that's how intense he was.

It was this, quick shift that threw Bonnie off and made her forget her words.

"I guess we're just, sitting in the room for a bit then." she said after a moment, and he smiled.

"Alright, the center of my attention today is you." Damon's facial expression grew softer once again, but his smirk was crooked.

Bonnie suddenly felt like being the center of this mans attention was a very, bad, _bad_ thing.

He turned around, pouring the brewed coffee into the mugs and adding creamer, sugar before handing Bonnie hers.

"Thanks." she replied, looking at the steaming liquid and inhaling a little.

"We're leaving tomorrow, right?" Bonnie asked after several moments of silence.

Damon nodded, "We have to check out at eleven."

"Alright." she sipped her coffee and raked her fingers through her hair.

"I have a show to go to tomorrow, and a meeting the next day, or else we could stay longer." Damon explained, watching her, as she watched her coffee rather intensely.

"I have rehearsal anyway." Bonnie shrugged, although, she'd be getting there more than several hours late. But, Ms. Bayes was probably already planning the show without her, if she didn't show up on Wednesday, there might not be a place for her at all.

"For a Christmas show?" he asked her.

"Yeah, we've been working on it since September." she replied, finally looking up from her mug.

Damon nodded, wondering if he'd ever watched her in one of the shows. He'd been to Whitmore shows before, but it was usually the group in general he was paying attention to, not any one person. Unless of course, the show was heavily focused on two dancers.

Bonnie moved from the counter, walked out to the main room, and sat down on the tan couch and folding her legs to the side of her. He followed behind her and grabbed the remote from the bedside table before sitting down on the other end of the couch.

"It's noon, by the way." Damon informed her and she blinked.

"Oh, it must've been late when we went to sleep." Bonnie quietly, looking at the TV when he turned it on.

The afternoon news was just starting on channel 4, with a banner across the screen that said, "weather in 10 minutes."

She sipped her from her mug, and grabbed the bottle of Tylenol off the coffee table, screwing the lid off and taking two of them.

"Did you really fall asleep on a bench in the vending machine area?" Bonnie asked, looking over at the man beside her, as he looked at the TV.

"Yes. I'm not sure why I went there though." Damon replied, tapping the side of the remote with his pointer finger.

"You shouldn't have walked off." she advised, and he looked over at her, unamused.

"Thanks. I'll remember that." Damon looked back at the TV and she rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for that, Cerek, and speaking of surprises... You won't believe who just got married this weekend." the female news anchor on the tv started.

Damon pursed his lips, and already regretted turning on the news before they had even continued the sentence.

"Damon Salvatore, of the Salvatore Ballet Company."

"Hey, that's you." Bonnie teased and he shook his head.

"This Sunday, Damon and formerly Bonnie Bennett, daughter of one of the greatest dancers, Abby Bennett, got married! I was a quick, and surprising wedding, as no one had even heard about it until the day of the wedding." the anchor smiled.

"Despite the secrecy, photo's show the couple close and smiling at their beautiful wedding. Although, there are some speculations around legitimacy of the wedding, most are overjoyed at the news."

"I don't even remember that picture." Bonnie pointed at the screen and Damon rolled his eyes, turning off the television.

When she thought about it, Damon seemed just as uncomfortable with the whole marriage thing as she did, maybe even more. Of course, their lives were an endless amount different. They may have both been in the ballet world but, they weren't the same people.

"I'm going to order room service, do you want anything?" he asked her, standing up from the couch.

"God yes, there's a menu in the night stand drawer." Bonnie replied, running a hand over her face and watching as he walked over to the table.

* * *

After they'd gotten their food, and eaten, it was a little after one and the afternoon sun was brighter around the room. Bonnie sat on the couch, empty coffee cup on the table, hair still messy around her face and face turned downwards as she read a book that was left in the room. With her headache mostly faded, she was just trying to figure out what she wanted to do for the rest of the day. She could of course stay in the room, but why waste time she could be taking advantage of the hotels entertainment?

Damon walked out of the bathroom, dressed in jeans, and a light red v-neck t-shirt, and his facial haired was trimmed down a bit; hair combed.

"I'll be back." he said as he turned towards the door and she looked up from the book.

"Alright." Bonnie replied, curious as to where he was going, but Lucia's key card that was missing from the TV stand where she'd put it was a easy answer.

Damon opened the door then looked back, " _Right_ back." he added, wanting to be exactly clear on this.

She nodded and looked back at her book, knowing now that he was going to take it back to her, and while it wasn't exactly her business, she wondered what he was going to say. Bonnie felt bad for going on at him about it, while she had been upset, she also wasn't exactly in her right mind.

Damon closed the door behind him and headed down the hallway.

It had been months since he had seen Lucia before the might before. A bit over half a year, and yet seeing her had brought up things he didn't want to think about. Things, he'd sworn he already forgotten. Things he had let go of when his father told him he wanted him to get married, and it didn't matter to whom. Damon and Lucia had ended, and then it was Damon and Melanie. However, Lucia and Melanie were about as similar as an orange and a jalapeno. Melanie was a set up, with no chemistry, no anything; like dating a tree. Lucia, well, she was someone else to him.

As he made it to the next floor and stood in front of her door, he banged his fist twice on it and waited.

The door opened and the familiar blond stood there, wearing a black maxi dress with her hair tied up.

"Oh, Damon." Lucia smiled, putting her hand on her lip and instantly assumed his reason for being there.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked and he just looked a her, blank faced.

"I'm not here for a rendezvous, Lucia." Damon said slowly.

Lucia tilted her head, "Too bad."

He pulled the key card from his jeans pocket and held it out to her between his middle and index finger.

"I'm serious, and if you try this again; you won't be getting your card back."

Lucia took the card from him and tapped it on the side of her cheek.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked with a devious smile.

"Because, as I recall, you have a habit of not being able to escape me."

Damon set his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest, that was getting a little tight.

"Well, as I recall, you're the one who continuously come back to me." he said, and the women sighed.

"That's our things, baby. Don't you know? I can't be tied down, you can't be untied." Lucia reached out, touching the front of his shirt with the tips of her fingers.

"I can't be untied?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucia chuckled, still touching him.

"You hate being alone and you hate monogamy, Damon. You sleep with any women who tosses herself at you, and claim it's a bad guy thing" she said slowly, looking up at him.

Damon stayed quiet, his arms still folded.

"You act like you're happily married. But, the truth is, you're starved for attention." Lucia dragged her finger further down the front of his chest, and his breathe was a little heavier.

"You're manipulative." Damon said, pushing her hand off his chest.

Lucia shrugged, "And, you're turned on."

He sighed and turned around to walk away, knowing if he didn't, he'd make more than one stupid choice.

Lucia however, apparently wasn't okay with this because she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him back around.

"Baby, don't go away. Who cares if you're married?" she asked, hand on him.

Damon grabbed her hand and shoved her away from him more aggressively this time, which was in retrospect, not a good idea.

"Leave me alone, Alucia." he said, gruffly, his face held forward with a steady gaze and had an air of authority that was palpable.

The women crossed her arms over her chest, and his aggressiveness only seemed to make her angry, and hot at the same time. Lucia hated being controlled, he knew this, he knew every single thing that made her tick, unfortunately, she knew the same things about him.

"You really want that?" she asked, eyes angry.

"Yes, I really fucking do." Damon replied, his chest hurting, and his pants a little too tight.

Lucia frowned, "Fine, have fun with your shitty vanilla marriage."

"At least I have a marriage." he growled back at her, and she grinned, wide.

Damon put a hand on his face, realizing she was getting to him and this was what she wanted.

"Get angry, if you're not gonna do me, at least I'll be the reason for her having a good time." Lucia remarked.

This didn't sit well with him and he inhaled.

"Okay, for one. Don't talk about Bonnie like that and secondly, I'm done with you, I'm done loving you, I'm done caring, D.O.N.E. Get over it." he said, watching her face fall before turning and walking back down the hallway.

When he unlocked and opened the door to his hotel room, Bonnie was sitting on the bed, with the phone to her ear.

Damon closed the door behind him, clearing his throat, and trying to shake away the anger that was tinging along his skin.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that... again. But, I love you, dad." Bonnie spoke into the phone, as she looked at the floor.

Damon walked slowly over towards the end of the bed.

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon." she said, before hanging up the phone and looking over at him.

"Remembered I needed to call my dad again." Bonnie explained and he nodded.

She noticed that his face was kind of flustered, his chest was rising more than normal with his breathe and his hands shoved into his pockets.

 _Is he turned on?_

She thought, but didn't dare let her eyes roam downwards to confirm anything.

Standing up, Damon noticed she was dressed now, in a knee length slightly sheer blue dress, bathing suit straps seen beside the sleeves of the dress.

"Are you going swimming?" he asked, his voice a little quiet.

"Yup, you can come if you want." Bonnie said, walking over and grabbing her bag she'd put a towel in.

Bonnie didn't want to bring up the topic of Lucia, especially not when she'd kind of come to the resolution that it was a touchy one. She couldn't blame him for whatever he was feeling, sexual or otherwise, because she wasn't knew to the call backs from exes, the mistake of getting back together, the regret of trying to just be occasional bed buddies.

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll get ready." Damon nodded and grabbed his bag of clothing.

"Alright, I'll be downstairs." she said and turned around, walking out of the door; giving him time to get ready and, whatever else he needed to do.

With her flip flops flicking against the floor, and her hair tied up in a loose bun, Bonnie made her way downstairs and to the water recreation room. There weren't too many people, maybe a dozen or so, and the room was huge. With Olympic sized pool on one side, a large jacuzzi in one corner, a wave pool, a child pool, a medium sized pool connecting to a tall water slide and an area with various types of sprinklers; it was like a miniature water park.

Some women were laid out in lounge chairs, several shirtless waiters walked around, giving people drinks.

For a hotel in the middle of Virginia, it was well worth the money.

"Can I get you anything?" a waiter asked her as he stepped over.

"No thank you." she replied, walking over and setting her bag down on a small table beside an empty lounge chair.

Pulling off her dress, she revealed a black one piece bathing suit, with a oval cut outs along each side and a sweetheart neckline. While the windows along the sides of the room showed that it was early November, inside the room it was warm, and filled with voices.

Walking over, although she had originally planned not to get her hair wet, she didn't hesitate to jump straight into the deep end of the pool, cold pool. Holding her breath as she sunk underwater, Bonnie held her nose with her fingers; pretending she was a rock. Her toes touched the hard bottom of the pool and she pushed upwards with her knee's.

Finally after what felt like forever, her head broke the surface of the water and she gasped for air.  
Opening her eyes she kicked her feet in order to stay floating and wiped her eyes until she could see.

Swimming back under water, she came up around the center of the side of the pool and spat out some of the water that got in her mouth.

When she looked over towards her stuff, she saw Damon setting his towel down and she held onto the side of the pool with her hands.

"Over here." Bonnie called, and Damon looked over, seeing Bonnie's wet face and hair several yards over.

She watched as she pulled his shirt off over his head, but looked away from his bare chest and focused on his feet as he walked over.

"Is it cold?" he asked her and she shrugged.

"Nah, not cold." Bonnie replied, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you lying?"

Bonnie moved up a little more, so her arms were resting along the side of the pool and looked upwards at him.

"You'll never know."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Well, I'm definitely not jumping straight in."

As Damon started to walk away, Bonnie grabbed him by one of his ankles, pulling and causing him to tumble face first into the water.

Damon was holding his breath, moving his arms as he made his way to the surface of the water.

Inhaling deeply once he was above the water, his head was a little dizzy from the shock and he scrubbed his hand over his face so he could open his eyes and see.

"Fucking hell..." he cursed, coughing a little.

When he was able to see, he looked around and didn't see Bonnie right away. That is until she popped up from underneath the water two feet away and inhaled deeply, then started to laugh.

"Oh my god." she huffed, her shoulders shaking.

Damon ran a hand through his now wet and messed up hair.

"You could've killed me!" he breathed, and she moved her arms around in the water to stay floating.

"Please, it's just some water." Bonnie teased, using her fingers to splash water at him.

Damon narrowed his eyes and splashed her back, watching her brush off her face and laugh.

"Okay, I'll stop." she lied, putting both of her hands above the water and he chuckled.

But, as started to turn around, Bonnie used her entire arm to send a wave of water crashing into the side of his face.

He just stayed still for a second, with his eyes closed, but then growled and rushed his body forward over to her, grabbed her body and sent them both down into the water.

Bonnie kicked her legs and attempted to use her arms to shove herself away from him, but as they resurfaced, he was still grabbing her.

She gasped for air, "Ahh!"

"How do you like it?" Damon asked, letting go of her with a chuckle and she instantly slapped the water like a storm, sending so much water at his face that going under water, was actually the better option.

Bonnie went underwater too and opened her eyes, it took several seconds for her eyes to get adjusted but when they did, Damon was a foot or so away, looking right back at her.

Damon watched as small bubbles escaped the woman's lips and she smiled at him.

Even though he wanted to be annoyed, he couldn't help smiling back and opening his mouth enough to let his own bubbles escape.

Bonnie was the first to resurface, him following and she took deep breathed.

"Do you have a pool?" she asked him once she'd caught her breath.

"Yes." Damon replied, watching as she pulled her hair out of the hair tie and it fell damp around her face.

Bonnie nodded slowly, and licked her lower lip, snapping the hair tie around her wrist.

"Do you want to go in the wave pool?" she asked.

"Sure." he chuckled and swam over to the side of the pool, climbing out over the edge even though you weren't really supposed to do that.

When Bonnie swam over, he reached a hand out and helped her out of the pool.

"Aren't you a rebel." she chuckled.

As they walked along the wet tile flooring, their feet made small sounds.

"Actually, you know, I'd rather go on the slide." Damon said with a smile, stopping mid walk and Bonnie blinked.

"Oh, well you can do that." she said and continued walking but he moved forward to walk beside her.

"Come with me, we can go in the wave pool after wards." he chuckled, but she bit the inside of her cheek.

"I'm okay." Bonnie replied and crossed her arms over her chest.

Damon blinked, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a second, are you afraid to go on the water slide?" he asked.

"What? No...No." she waved a brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

"You are." he smiled, got this devious look in his eyes that made Bonnie's heart twist.

Before she could step away from him, Damon grabbed her up into his arms and over his shoulder she went. As he walked quickly across the floor, doing his best not to slip, she kicked her feet.

"Ahh! Hey!" she tried to wiggle her way out of his arms as they got closer to the slide.

"Oh, no please!" Bonnie huffed, flailing her arms in the air but they suddenly stopped and she was set on the ground.

"I'm not going down the slide!" she insisted, as they stood in front of the stairs going up the slide.

"Come on, it's just a slide." Damon looked downwards at her.

Bonnie shook her head, and before she could move away from him, he moved right up close to her at the stairs, making it impossible for her to go anywhere but up them.

"If you die on the way down, you can kill me." he teased and she rolled her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and looked up the long staircase.

Bonnie took one step, then another, and as she was starting to take her third, her heart started to beat faster.

"No, no I can't." she gasped and quickly turned around, face planting straight into Damon's bare chest.

"You can!" he laughed and she shook her head, pushing against him with her body trying to move him out of the way but it was like trying to move a train.

A very tall and dark haired train.

"I'll go down with you." Damon promised, looking down at the woman, her exotic green eyes frightened.

"Or, you could just not make me." Bonnie said slowly and he sighed.

"Alright, fine." he moved out of the way, leaving her enough space to walk beside him.

However, Bonnie inhaled, looking down, then up at him, then down again.

"Fine." she groaned and turned back around taking another step up the stairs.

Damon followed slowly behind her, directly behind her, and exactly five minutes later (Damon was counting) they were at the top of the slide.

Bonnie swallowed, looking down the swirling, bright yellow slide that was all the way around like a really twisty paper towel roll. Needless to say, her stomach was hurting.

"Sit down." Damon told her and she blinked, looking back at him.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Sit down at the edge, put your hands along the front of the slide." he told her and she swallowed, sitting down and doing what he'd said.

As Bonnie tapped her fingers along the hard plastic of the slide, she felt Damon sit down right behind her, scoot up until his chest was against her back, pushing her a little forward so that he was on the slide, but not far enough so they went down.

"Let go of the slide." he told her and she swallowed, letting of it, but they didn't slide down because he was holding onto the slide now.

Damon wrapped one arm around her waist, and her arms went down to wrap over his arm.

"I'm gonna let go now." he told her and she nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.

As he let go of the slide, quickly wrapping his other arm around her, they went sliding down the slide.

Water swooshed around in their faces, and Bonnie held her breath as much as possible.

"Fuck!" she screamed, while laughing and although it felt like forever, it was only a matter of seconds until they were shot off the slide and into the 14 foot deep pool before it.

As they crashed into the water, their bodies were separated and Bonnie kicked her legs trying to surface as quickly as possible.

"Oh my god!" she gasped when she could finally breathe and brushed her hair out of her face.

Damon surfaced several feet from her and shook the water off his hair and face.

"See, that was fun." he laughed, and Bonnie was climbing out of the side of the pool.

He followed and stood beside her. Her chest was rising and falling, heart racing and she rubbed her face.

"Okay, it was exciting." she admitted and he smiled.

"Go again?" Damon asked her and she laughed.

"Hell no." Bonnie replied, putting her hands on her hips as she was still struggling with breath.

* * *

"We've been swimming for hours, lets go do something else." Bonnie said, as she stood, dripping wet beside the wave pool, Damon was sitting along the edge.

"Alright, let's go back to the room, and get dressed." he agreed, standing up and they made there way to the lounge chairs were their towels were.

Bonnie grabbed hers, wrapping it around her body, shoving her cover up in her bag and slipping her flip flops on. When she looked over at Damon he was wearing his shirt, and drying his hair with the towel.

"I get to chose what we do next." Damon chuckled, tossing the towel over his shoulder once he was done, his hair left in messy wavy spikes.

"Okay, what do you want to do?" she asked as they made their way out of the rec room and into the hallway.

"I haven't decided." he chuckled and opened the door for her once they got to the room.

Bonnie ran her fingers through her damp hair as she stood in the bathroom with the door closed.

Stripping her bath suit off, she dried the rest of her body and then hung the towel up to dry.

She pulled on some panties, a bra, socks, black leggings and a hip length red flowy tank top.

"Have you figured out what you want to do?" Bonnie asked through the bathroom door as she was combing her hair.

Damon said something, but she didn't hear it so she waited until she'd finished combing her hair and pinned the sides up with bobby pins before opening the door.

"What did you say, I didn't hear you?" she asked, closing the door and looking forward.

"I said, we can just get some dinner, relax." he told her as he rolled the sleeves of his long sleeve  
black button up shirt up.

Bonnie nodded.

"Unless of course you aren't hungry?" Damon asked.

"Oh, I'm starving, that sounds good." she chuckled and slipped on her shoes.

Bonnie suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing makeup, she hadn't since the wedding which was unusual for her, she was usually wearing it.

"Sorry if I look bad." she added, wondering if she should toss on some powder.

Damon's brow furrowed, "Why would you say that?"

"Just 'cause I'm not wearing makeup." Bonnie chuckled and he raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't wearing makeup yesterday, and you look just as nice." he replied and her face got warmer.

"Thanks." she smiled a little.

After a few seconds, Damon spoke, "Well, let's get downstairs."

Once they were downstairs, in the Ressio room, sitting at different table this time, and waiting on their food, Bonnie looked across at him.

"We both probably have 50 voice mails from your parents by now." she remarked and he chuckled.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Damon replied, and a waitress bought over a bottle of red wine, a bottle of bourbon and 2 glasses.

Bonnie pursed her lips as she watched Damon pour himself a glass of bourbon.

"Do you want one?" he asked her, and this time before answering she spent several moments actually thinking about it.

The night before had been a result of over consumption and, she didn't want to feel like that again, at least not so soon. She wasn't going to judge or boss Damon on his own intake, but she was definitely going to limit in her own.

"Eh, why not? I'm not going to preach you on your own, but I'm having 2, 3 at the max." she told him and he shrugged, pouring her a glass of the bourbon and sliding it over to her.

Bonnie lifted the glass to her lips, taking a drink of the bourbon and instantly remembered the night before, and the night at the club. It was weird, how taste, can bring up these small flash backs of things.

"Here's your food." the waitress brought their food over and they smiled before she walked away.

Damon down his glass of bourbon before picking up his fork to eat and Bonnie gave him a look of disapproval which he didn't see.

As Bonnie looked to the right, she almost didn't notice but once she did, she had to take a double take.

There Lucia was, dressed in a short length blue strapless dress that was obviously put on to catch someone's attention. Bonnie knew exactly whose attention.

"Are you kidding me?" she mumbled to herself, looking away and running her fork along her plate.

"What?" Damon asked, as he poured another glass of bourbon.

Bonnie pointed, but didn't look and Damon blinked when he saw Lucia.

"Maybe she just happened to want dinner." he said slowly.

"Yeah, I believe that." Bonnie rolled her eyes and to neither of their surprises, the blond made her way to their table.

"Oh, you two again! How crazy." Lucia smiled, and put her hand along her hip.

"Yeah, practically clinical." Bonnie remarked and put a bite of her food in her mouth.

Lucia chuckled, putting her hand along her chest.

"I'll leave you two along, I just wanted to stop bye and say hello." as the woman turned to walk away, she touched Damon's shoulder, and dragged her hand along and off of it.

Bonnie watched her walk away, and then looked back at Damon who looked stressed out as he down his second drink.

Bonnie sipped hers, that was still more than half full and tapped her fingers along the table. The tension at the table was growing again, and no one was saying a word.

Bonnie looked to the side to see Lucia walking out of the Ressio room and she cleared her throat.

"I'll be back." she said slowly, and Damon didn't question her, instead just poured another drink.

She walked through and out of the room, looking to see which way Lucia was and turned that way.

"Lucia." she called, and the woman turned around, with a slightly surprised look on her face.

"Bonnie, is something wrong?" Lucia asked, raising her eyebrows, acting like she was surprised.

Bonnie folded her arms over her chest, "Actually there is." she started.

"You seem to think that, throwing yourself at Damon is a good idea."

Lucia blinked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, you just pretend whatever you want but I know, and I really think it needs to stop." Bonnie's jaw set.

"Pretty sure you're not a part of what I can and can't do." the blond replied, tilting her head to the side.

Bonnie blinked, realizing that being civil wasn't exactly going to work.

"Alright, let me put it this way. I don't think it needs to stop, it just needs to stop." she said, a little more serious this time.

"Whatever you say." Lucia smiled, but Bonnie knew the look in her eyes. It was the look Lucia probably gave every women who was dating a man she was cheating with. It was the, 'I'm better than you, so it doesn't matter, he'll come to me anyway' look. And it was such bullshit.

"Listen, you and Damon might have a past, but Damon has made it increasingly clear that he's not interested in you anymore; yet you continue to bother him." Bonnie's chest was hurting as she spoke, and she just wanted to get this problem solved so she could go back to her table.

"You're just another jealous wife." she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No, this has nothing to do with Damon being my husband, and I really don't give a shit about you wanting to have sex with him. But, he is not interested in having sex with you. He has told you that, you told you to leave him alone, and yet here you are. Do you know what that is? That's sexual harassment. If you don't leave him alone, and you, we're going to have a serious and personal problem." she said getting closer to the women, who's face was blank now.

Lucia swallowed, "You might be his wife, but I came pretty close to it too, you know."

Bonnie blinked, but quickly regained her thoughts.

"Well, in the real world, pretty close, is the same as not at all." she said and turned around quickly, knowing if she argued with this woman any longer, she'd regret it.

As she walked backed into the room, and got back to the table she saw Damon about to down his 3rd drink.

Sitting down, she grabbed it from his hand and set it down on the table.

"Hey..." he said slowly, confused.

"I said I wasn't going to call you out, but I am." Bonnie started.

"You want to drink that, go ahead, but I'm telling you, right now, that you shouldn't; because you're just going to end up drunk and whatever demons you're hiding, aren't going to get better."

Damon blinked, and just sat there, looking at her, hardly buzzed but nodded.

"Alright." he spoke, and dumped the bourbon out into his empty glass that had soda in it at one point.

Taking Bonnie's glass he did the same thing, and then poured some red wine in each of the glasses.

"If two drink is your max, and 3 is mine, it may as well be a good one." Damon slid her glass to her and then continued eating his food.

Bonnie tipped her glass to her lips and took a sip, looking over at him and wondering what exactly had inspired Damon to want to marry Lucia. If what she had been saying was true. The man before her was troubled, and had a minor alcohol problem, but he was also authoritative, strong and practically fueled a business. She didn't understand why successful men, seemed to fall to the ankles of shitty women.

Once the food was gone, the plates cleared, and almost all of the wine in their glasses was gone, it was quiet except for the chatter of other guests and music in the background.

"What did you say to Lucia?" Damon asked her, running his finger along the rim of his glass.

"Not much." she replied, and he knew she was lying.

"You say that, but I hardly believe it." he said quietly, and she smiled.

He looked at Bonnie and set his glass to the side, putting the money for the bill and tip onto the table.

"Alright, we should get back to the room before I get myself drunk." Damon teased and she chuckled, standing up from the table.

"Hope you had a nice evening." the hostess said as they left.

Their walk back up to their room was quiet, and once they got into the room it was dark, warm and quiet.

Damon flipped the light switch on and watched her walk along the room.

"It's already 10?" she asked as she looked at the clock along the wall.

"I guess so." he chuckled, and realized that without their phones, they didn't seem to be very well at keeping track of time.

Bonnie nodded, feeling a little tipsy and slid off her shoes.

"I'm going to put my pjs on." she announced before going into the bathroom.

Damon watched the door close, and ran a hand through his hair. After few seconds, he got undressed, taking his shirt and pants off, before pulling a pair of sweat pants on. He felt kind of stuffy so he didn't put a shirt on and walked through the room; opening the patio door and stepping out, just closing the screen on it.

Bonnie was done changing, so she turned the bathroom light off, looking around the room in the red pajamas Damon had bought her.

She was a little confused when she didn't see him anywhere, but noticed the sound from outside was a little louder, and looked to see the screen on the door.

"Oh." she chuckled and took off her socks, before walking over and stepping out onto the patio barefoot.

"For a second, I thought you'd disappeared." Bonnie joked and ran a hand through her hair which was unpinned.

"I tried, but I'm no very good at magic." Damon replied, and she looked over at him, he was facing outwards, with his bare back facing her.

She blinked, "Yeah, me either... hence ballerina."

Damon chuckled and turn around to face her.

It was dim out on the patio but definitely not so dim that she couldn't see what was right in front of her.

Damon's sweats were resting just barely on his hips, her eyes roamed down his broad chest, down to his abs and before she could stop herself; the oh so delicious V shape that she hadn't noticed before was pouring into her eyes. Bonnie's eyes went down just a little further, towards his happy trail that led to the... _gift_ underneath his pants.

Her face went flesh pink she looked up quickly.

"You alright there?" he asked, towering above her.

Bonnie swallowed, and suddenly her heart was beating harder.

 _That's normal._

She thought to herself, but suddenly her stomach felt weird; which she also tried to normalize.

 _An old person, anyone, even a piece of furniture would get butterflies around this man._

"Yeah, just a little tired." she replied, running a few fingers along one of her eyebrows.

"Yeah, we did swim a lot." Damon nodded, a breeze was blowing, gently blowing Bonnie's hair and against his skin.

"So, Lucia said you were 'pretty close' to marry her." Bonnie brought up, even after a few moments of telling herself not to.

He blinked, leaning against the railing and sighed.

"Yeah, around our 8th month of dating, when we were exclusive, I asked her." he explained.

"She said no, and then for 6 months afterward we were kind of, on and off."

"Of each other?" Bonnie teased, trying to make the situation lighter.

Damon chuckled, "That's one way to put it."

She walked over, leaning against the railing as well, facing him.

"She doesn't seem like the type of woman you'd want to marry."

"Well, she's good at manipulating people, and good in bed, to be frank." he said looking outwards along the parking lot.

"That's not all it was though." Bonnie noted, "It was more than that, I can see that."

Damon nodded, "Yeah, I loved her. Maybe not for the right reasons, and maybe it didn't make sense, but still."

"No sense at all." Bonnie pursed her lips, and he looked over at her, that familiar crooked smirk on his face.

"But, that's over; completely." he sighed.

"I believe you." she assured him, and looked outwards towards the lot.

Damon's eyes scanned over her face, at her wine stained lips and his tongue ran along his bottom lip briefly.

"I've never told anyone that, you know." he said slowly.

Bonnie blinked, furrowing her brow and looking at him.

"What?"

"That I wanted to marry Lucia. I never told anyone I proposed, I never told anyone she rejected me." Damon admitted.

She stepped a little closer, and her forehead creased.

"That's kind of a heavy thing to carry you know."

He nodded, "But, I'm carry it."

"I've never, wanted to marry someone, or been proposed to; so I wouldn't know exactly how that works. Our marriage is... what it is. But, I can't imagine how difficult it must be, not being married to someone you actually wanted to marry." Bonnie said softly, moving her arms back down to her sides.

"In my life, my family, it's normal." Damon replied, looking down at her.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't fucking suck." she mumbled, and he just looked at her.

The look lasted more moments than a normal look would, and Bonnie was feeling a little dizzy by the time Damon stepped back. It wasn't helping that he was shirtless, and the wind was rippling his dark hair.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "I'm going to go to bed."

He nodded and she turned away, walking back into the room and trying to ignore the fact that he was following behind her. But, ignore Damon Salvatore was like trying to ignore purple zebra in a party hat.

A very hot zebra, in a very manly party hat.

As Bonnie climbed in bed, pulling the doubled covers over her body and pushing her face into her pillow, the lights turned off, the room pitch black.

The movement of Damon crawling into bed was felt beside her and she opened her eyes.

"I'm glad you like the pajamas I got." he mentioned rather randomly, as he looked at her face through the darkness.

"Yeah, they're nice." Bonnie smiled a little, and scooted closer so that the blankets were more evenly distributed.

Damon scooted closer as well, but not for the same reason and looked more intensely into her face.

"Can I ask you something?"

Bonnie's smile faded, her heart heavy in her chest.

"What?"

His blue eyes were the brightest thing in the room.

"Are you uncomfortable right now?"

Bonnie swallowed, "Maybe."

Damon knew exactly what he was doing, he could lie and say he didn't, but they both knew that he knew. He was a man who knew what he was doing, even when it wasn't exactly a good thing.

"Is it because you're _warm,_ or are you really just uncomfortable?" he asked, using an innuendo, that poured from his lips like honey and she felt his hand move underneath the blanket, to the side of her hip.

"I..." Bonnie breathed, finding it hard to speak.

Damon's fingers found the edge of her pajama top and slowly found their way underneath it, touching the skin along her side.

Bonnie shivered and pulled away from him.

"I.. can you not, please." she said, her eyes a little wide, even though her heart was beating fast in her chest.

Between her legs was saying one thing, but her mind, and emotions were saying another, she knew she needed to listen to the ladder.

Damon blinked, and pulled his hand away from her.

"I'm sorry." he said clearing his throat.

"I shouldn't have done that."

Bonnie inhaled, "It's okay, we're both just... this is.. just a weird situation; we're just a weird situation."

"I know that, I understand, I still shouldn't have done that." Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's been a long day, I think we should sleep." she said slowly and he nodded.

"Goodnight." he said to her.

"Goodnight." Bonnie said softly, taking a breath and closing her eyes to sleep.

But, before she fell asleep, she reached over, touching the side of her hand to his.

Damon opened his eyes for a split second.

Moving his hand over, he covered hers with his and closed his eyes again.

It might've been a long, fun, difficult and weird day but, at least he'd gotten to share something that had been a weight on his shoulder for quite some time.


	7. You're My Distraction

_**Chapter 7 –** You're My Distraction_

"Mmhmm." Bonnie mumbled, half asleep, trying to turn her head away from the sunlight pouring into the room.

There was the faint sound of footsteps, ruffling and after a few seconds, even water running.

"You awake?" Damon voice came from the kitchen as the water turned off and she squeezed her eyes shut harder.

"No." she replied, her face squished against the pillow.

The footsteps traveled from the kitchen, back into the main room and suddenly there was a shadow blocking the previous sunlight from the curtains.

"Oh, really now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Time is it." Bonnie asked, her voice sleepy, a little hoarse.

Damon finished tying his tie around his neck and then fixed his the dollar of his white dress shirt.

"9am." he replied, and got a rather unhappy sound from her as a response.

"I thought you said we didn't have to leave till 11." Bonnie grumbled.

"Technically, we don't. However, the show is at 11, so, we're going to have to leave in 15 minutes." Damon chuckled, and she huffed.

"We have to leave in 15 minutes and you're just now waking me up?" she asked, and he blinked.

"Would you rather I woke you up an hour ago, when I got up?" he inquired.

Bonnie exhaled loudly.

"Didn't think so... Now, get up." Damon told her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No." she resisted, and he pursed his lips.

Walking over to the curtains he pulled them open completely, causing her to be blinded even with her eyes closed and she groaned, pulling the blanket up to her face.

"Now, see that totally takes away the point of opening the curtains." Damon walked back over, this time to the end of the bed and grabbed the blanket.

Bonnie screamed when the blanket was ripped from her body and she was left uncovered, blinded by the sun.

"I am not getting up yet!" she huffed, rolling onto her stomach and shoving her face in the pillow, although now she was kind of annoyed.

"I beg to differ." Damon said slowly, and she felt his hands on her sides.

At first she thought he was going to tickle her, but quickly realized she was mistaken when she was lifted up and tossed over his shoulder.

"What are you-" she gasped, too surprised to make any quick movements.

Damon rushed into the bathroom, set her down in the shower so quickly, she didn't understand what was happening until suddenly the cold water was pouring down onto the top of her head.

"Ahhh!" she screamed, gasping and trying to stand up but the floor was too slippery.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie spat out water and by the time she could stand up, she was soaking wet.

Damon was grinning, standing about a foot from the shower, watching as she looked over at him, hair slick to her face, her eyelashes wet.

"Asshole!" she yelled at him, angry.

Stepping forward she reached one hand out of the shower and grabbed him by the tie.

"Oh no, d-" he started but she had already yanked him forward and into the shower.

Damon stumbled towards the back of the shower, the water pouring on him and he inhaled sharply.

"How do you like it?!" she was still yelling, and pulled the shower hose off the top of the holder and started spraying him directly with it.

"I just put on this suit!" he growled, and she made even more of an effort to soak his clothing.

Bonnie inhaled, taking a step forward and her foot slipped a little, sending her straight into his chest.

"You started it." she coughed, her skin freezing.

After a few seconds, Damon chuckled, and she looked up at him.

"It's not funny." Bonnie insisted.

"I don't know, I think it's kind of funny." he smirked crookedly, and she shook her head.

Getting out of the shower, she walked out to the main room, dripping wet.

"Well, that's my cold shower for the year." she sighed, and Damon followed suit behind her.

"You're awake now though, aren't you?" Damon asked, and she turned her head to look at him, unamused.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an asshole." he waved and pulled his wet suit jacket off.

Bonnie could see his chest, and abs through the wet white shirt and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"Whatever, lets just get dry clothing on and leave like you said." she cleared her throat and stepped back into the bathroom, leaving a pair of footprints in the carpet.

After drying off, and changing into clothing suitable for class, she tied up her hair and packed up everything that wasn't already in her bag.

When Bonnie walked back into the main room, carrying her bag, along with a plastic bag that had the wet clothes in it, Damon was changed into another suit. His hair was still damp, and he looked over at her.

"You need to drop me off at school." she told him, setting her bag near her others.

"Will do, you'll need to get a ride to my house though, I'm not sure when I'll be back." Damon told her, as he wrapped another tie around his neck.

"Okay." Bonnie sighed, slipping her shoes on.

Honestly, she wished she could just go back to her house, sleep for a few days, go back to the way things were. But, that wasn't possible now, she'd made her choice. It wasn't that Damon was bad, he was actually an interesting guy, but Bonnie had never done well with change.

"You can of course, get things from your home to bring." he reminded her, looking around from his comb.

"Oh, yes. Of course." she nodded, and saw his comb sitting on the dresser.

Walking over she grabbed it and stepped over to him.

"Here, I got it." Bonnie insisted and he raised an eyebrow.

She moved over, standing on the end of the bed so she could reach his head.

"Where is your meeting at?" she asked, as she slowly combed his hair for him, it was kind of mesmerizing. Damon's dark locks going from a tangled curled mess into a smooth silk like curve, with a little curl along his forehead.

"Richmond, it's after the show." he replied, watching her get down from the bed and hand him his comb.

"Thanks." Damon chuckled, blue eyes scanning her face and he tucked the comb in his pocket.

"No problem... So I guess I'll just be there with...?" Bonnie asked, pursing her lips.

"My brother will be there, my mother might be as well, but I'm unsure. My family is in and out of the house, never know when they'll be staying." he walked over to the phone.

"Oh, so it's like, a family house?" she asked, curious.

Damon nodded, "I suppose so. Belongs to the family, it's been in the family forever. My parents have their own home in Georgia, but go back and forth."

Bonnie nodded, watching him grab the phone and call someone up to get their bags.

"What about you?" she asked once he was done.

"What about me what?" Damon asked, buttoning part of his jacket.

Bonnie had almost forgotten how handsome he looked in a suit, how different he looked; his face was cleanly shaven now.

Clean cut and suited versus jeans, v-neck t-shirts, stubble and messy hair. She wasn't sure which she enjoyed the most. Just that, both looks showed different sides of him.

"Do you have another place?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, I have an apartment in New York, Paris, and London. But, we all do; we have at least two international meetings a year, two international shows a year." he explained, and she smiled.

"Wow, Paris, London. Must be fun."

"You've never been to Paris or London?" Damon asked, looking surprised.

"Well, no. I mean, I could but Whitmore keeps me rather busy." Bonnie furrowed her brow.

He nodded, "Yeah, I get it. My job keeps me from a lot of things too."

Several moments later and a bellhop was wheeling their bags through the hotel and to the front door.

Bonnie had sunglasses she bought in the lobby on, as the sun was brighter than she cared for. Once the bags were in the trunk, she got into the car quicker than Damon could move to try and open her door for her.

"You're excited to leave." Damon said slowly, closing his door and pulling his seat belt on.

"Not at all, just not an early morning person." Bonnie chuckled and pulled the visor down to block the sun out even more.

They pulled out of the parking place and headed through the parking lot, finally they were on the road headed away from the Onyx.

"Oh god." Bonnie suddenly face palmed herself, and inhaled.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Caroline is going to kill me, I forgot to call her!" she remembered and pulled her phone out, pressing the button to turn it on for the first time in days.

Bonnie waited for the flashing to stop on her screen, and was bombarded by notifications.

"I'm gonna guess about half of those are my parents." Damon said with a chuckle, turning onto the highway.

"From the looks of it, most of the voice mails are, but the texts are all Caroline." she replied and quickly opened up Caroline's messages."

 **Bonnie:** Sorry about not calling you! I'm otw there, see you soon.

Damon sighed, "I better call my parents." he reached into his pocket and pulled his phone, which was already on out.

Bonnie reached over, snatching the phone from his hand and he gave her a weird look.

"You can't talk on the phone while driving." she said with a look of disapproval.

"What's your code?" she asked after a second, staring at his lock screen, which was a simple all gray backdrop.

Damon rolled his eyes, "1990." he replied and she pursed her lips unlocking his phone.

"Using your birthday as your pass code is stupid." Bonnie insisted as she clicked onto his contacts.

"Oh yeah? What's yours?" Damon asked her, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"1994." she replied, keeping her eyes glued to his phone.

He looked over at her for split second, grinning crookedly.

"See, Judgey."

"Yeah, yeah." Bonnie rolled her eyes, and clicked onto the contact 'Lily Salvatore' and thought it was a little odd that she wasn't in there as 'mom.'

Lifting the phone to her ear, she looked out of the window as it rang.

"Damon? What is going on? I've been trying to contact you for days." Lily's voice answered, and even Damon could hear it.

Bonnie moved the phone back a little from her ear.

"Lily, this is Bonnie." she started.

"Bonnie? Where's Damon, and why exactly didn't you two go to Italy?" Lily asked, sounding rather displeased.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Well, your son is beside me, driving; and we didn't go to Italy, because we decided it wasn't where we wanted to go."

"Y-You didn't want to go to Italy? You do understand how much that trip cost?"

"Lily, I apologize for any trouble it caused, but it's kind of over with now so, I don't see any point in getting upset about it." she insisted and Damon's eyebrows rose.

"You two were supposed to go to Italy, that was what was planned, and what you were supposed to d-" the women started and Bonnie pursed her lips.

"Excuse me, but I think being shoved into a marriage, warrants a change in honeymoon plans." Bonnie pulled off her sunglasses.

"I apologized, but if you're still upset about it, that's your issue."

She hung up the phone faster than Lily could reply and set it on the dashboard.

Damon blinked, "Wow."

"What?" Bonnie asked with a sigh, rubbing at her face.

"I can't believe you just talked to my mother that way." he replied, switching lanes.

She looked to the side, and furrowed her brow, thinking she'd over stepped.

"Oh, sorry if I overstepped." Bonnie fumbled with her own phone in her lap.

"No, it was great." Damon chuckled, and she looked at him blankly, confused.

She looked over at him, with narrowed eyes.

"I feel like I'm missing something..."

He moved one of his arm to rest against the door as he coasted down the freeway.

"My parents are very critical of me, yet also care very little for me; while at the same time, I'm half of the family business." Damon explained, tapping his finger tips on the steering wheel.

Bonnie nodded, "That must suck... My dads gone most of the time, but at least I know he cares about me."

"And, is he supportive of you no matter what?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, I think he is. He would've been fine if I didn't marry you." she replied.

"You're a lucky woman. My father would have nothing but agreement on the whole marriage thing." Damon said slowly, and Bonnie tilted her head to the side.

"Really? You didn't have any choice?"

Damon exhaled, "Not really, no."

"Unless of course, I wanted to be stripped of my half of the business, and knowing my family, be forced to take a new last name."

Bonnie shook her head.

"That's crazy, Damon. They couldn't just take away what's yours because you disagree with them."

"It is crazy, but they would do it, trust me." he assured her and she furrowed her brow.

"Okay, all of that aside. Are you saying that, you couldn't make it with out your family? I'm really doubtful that, considering you're already well off money wise, and running that family isn't your only skill set." Bonnie insisted, and Damon looked over at her.

"Well, no, it's not my only skill set... It's just, a lot more important than you realize."

She laughed, "No, I get how important it is, I'm not stupid. Getting thrown out of your own family, isn't good publicity. I'm only saying, if it came down to it, you don't need them."

Damon nodded slowly, "I guess."

After several moments of awkward silence, Bonnie felt like she'd made him uncomfortable and turned to look out of the window.

"We're almost to Whitmore." Damon announced quietly.

"Alright." Bonnie cleared her throat and made sure her bag was slung over her forearm.

"Tell Caroline I said, Hello." he asked her and she nodded.

"I will... And, sorry if I upset you or anything." she bit her lower lip as they pulled up to the school.

Damon shook his head, "No, no. The only thing that bothered me was the truth, and that's my own issue."

"I understand." Bonnie took off her belt, and opened the door to get out.

"I'll see you whenever." she said and he smiled a little back at her before she shut the door.

After watching his blue car pull away, she turned around and made her way into the school carrying her bag with her point shoes in it.

The halls were quiet, and honestly she felt like just skipping the whole day, because she knew she was going to get flack from Ms. Bayes.

Pushing the double doors to the class open, she saw the class going exercises and stepped in.

"Bonnie!" Caroline's voice came from one side of the room, and the blond quickly ditched her exercises to greet her feet from the door.

Bonnie chuckled, and watched as Talia, and Danielle turned their heads to look.

"I missed you! I got your text." Caroline wrapped her arms around her tightly.

Bonnie hugged her back, and patted her head, before pulling away.

The Talia, Danielle and another girl, who Bonnie couldn't place also ditched the exercises to walk over to her.

"Hey!" Danielle said excitedly, and she raised an eyebrow, a little confused as Danielle had never talked to her in the whole 3 years they were in the same company.

"Hi." Bonnie replied.

"I can't believe you're married to Damon Salvatore." Talia said in a hushed voice, but was smiling.

Okay, now she understood. Did everyone watch the news or something?

"Oh, yeah." she laughed.

"Why didn't you tell us you were dating him?" Danielle asked, raising her eyebrows.

Bonnie smiled a little, "Oh, well. It was kind of, on the low. Privacy and all." she lied, and her heart was starting to beat faster.

"Ooh, so, how long were you dating? What's he like?" Danielle asked, and she was started to get dizzy trying to figure out answers.

"Danielle, give the woman some space. She just got back from her honeymoon." Caroline pushed Danielle to the side a little.

The woman rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I'll just read about it online." she walked away, looking unhappy.

Bonnie exhaled, "Thanks, Care."

Caroline nodded and Talia patted her shoulder.

"When I got AM, people were asking me a bunch of questions too, you'll get used to it." Talia chuckled, and Bonnie blinked, looking at Caroline as if to accuse her of spilling the beans.

"I didn't say anything!" Care raised a hand.

Talia smiled, "I know the deal, no need to explain."

* * *

Damon showed his ID to the guy at the front of the theater where the show he was going to was. He didn't need to pay, being the critic he was, sometimes people offered to give him their seat.

But, he always declined. He preferred sitting further back, rather than right up front. Getting someone's attention wasn't his ploy, he didn't have a ploy actually. Damon was only there to judge the performance, make the company, school, group, whatever happy..or unhappy depending on the performance.

Sitting down in a seat, he crossed one of his legs, and waited for the ballet to start.

He couldn't for the life of him remember what the show was, and he hadn't grabbed a pamphlet on the way in.

The lights darkened, the the music started. He'd heard the song of the first scene a million times by now.

Damon used to like being a critic, going to shows, watching them, but 7 years in and he was growing weary. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone. It was a private woe, something he wanted to get out of, but he knew his father wouldn't approve.

Giuseppe wanted him in line with his plans, his life. It didn't matter what Damon wanted, and honestly, he was starting to wonder if he gave a damn at all.

Running the company, going to meetings, that was a different ballgame. He was alright with running half of the company, after all it was part of his family. Going to a meeting or two a week, sometimes internationally, wasn't all that bad.

If only his father wasn't so stubborn, maybe Damon could run half the business, and do something he actually wanted to do.

He watched the show, doing his best to pay attention but it was more than difficult.

Pulling his phone out, and setting it to the minimum brightness as to not disturb anyone, he looked at the screen. Tapping his thumbs along the screen, he wondered if he should text Bonnie. See how her day was going.

 **Damon:** How's life back at Whitmore?

He blinked, then erased that sentence.

 **Damon:** How's it going?

No.. That was right either.

 **Damon:** How's your day so far?

 _Sent._

Should it have been that difficult to get to that choice?

He just looked at the screen for several seconds afterwards, before shoving it back in his pocket and attempting to pay attention to the ballet once more.

* * *

Bonnie rode in Caroline's car after school, on the way to her house to pack some of her things to bring to the Salvatore's house. That day hadn't been very long, since she arrived around 10. Ms. Bayes hadn't even spoken to her, hardly looked at her and ended the class around 3pm.

"So, you still haven't told me how your time with Damon went." Caroline smiled, looking over at her as they pulled into Bonnie's driveway.

"It was... fine." Bonnie replied, and obviously this wasn't the answer her best friend was looking for.

Caroline unbuckled her seat belt, turned off the car but stayed seated.

"'Fine'? I'm going to need a lot more information than that Bonnie Sheila Salvatore." Caroline said, her eyes serious but her smile was wide.

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, it just sounds so good! Bonnie Salvatore, Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore." she repeated, pursing her lips.

"Alright, alright..." Bonnie waved and leaned her head against the headrest.

"It was fun, I mean, he's a little confusing and.. intense." she admitted, and Caroline tilted her head.

"Intense? How?" Care asked, turning in her seat.

"Like, deep rooted, family issues, past relationship issues, intense." she explained, and bit the inside of her cheek before continuing.

"And, he's a little... sexually intense."

Caroline practically squealed, "Oh my god, details."

"Nothing, happened. I'm just saying, he has this magnetic air about him." Bonnie narrowing her eyes trying to think.

"Like a Kennedy?" Care asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, exactly like a Kennedy. But, with less scandal... or maybe a lot of scandal." she raised an eyebrow.

Caroline chuckled, "So, no kissing, no touchy touchy what so ever?"

"No, no kissing, no touching... Well, we cuddled, once." Bonnie admitted.

"But, we were hung over, and dead tired after an argument." she added, unbuckling her seat-belt.

"Woah, woah. Hung over, and your first argument as a couple? What the hell did I miss? Have you heard of blogging?" Caroline grabbed her arm, keeping her from getting out of the car, and she laughed.

"Jesus, Care, my life isn't a lifetime movie." Bonnie pulled her arm away, and reached up to pull her hair out of the ponytail.

"It may as well be. I need details, like pent house forum, details." she teased and Bonnie opened the door to get out of the car.

Caroline followed suit, walking with her into the house.

"So, going over what I know so far. He's confusing, has family drama but who doesn't, sex god, and intense." she said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Okay, I never said sex god." Bonnie glared at her as she leaned against the counter, and setting her bag down.

"Fine, you explain." Care motioned as she leaned against the counter beside her.

Bonnie exhaled, "I don't know, Caroline." she moved from the counter and kicked her sneakers off.

"I feel like I'm on jeopardy." she rolled her eyes and grabbed a water from the fridge.

"By the way, thanks for replacing all my pajamas with lingerie. Very mature."

Caroline giggled, "Too bad you didn't get any use out of them."

Bonnie sighed, and walked out of the kitchen, and started up the stairs to her bedroom, with Caroline following behind her.

"Can you stop acting like I was supposed to sleep with him?" she asked, walking in and sitting on her queen sized bed.

Care frowned and sat beside her, "Sorry, I'm just try to make the best out of all of this."

"I know... I know you are. I love you for that, I do. But, I didn't sleep with him, and it wasn't for lack of motivation either, believe me." Bonnie started, running her fingers through her hair.

"We could have slept together, but I chose not go there. I could have even just kissed him, but I chose not to go there."

Caroline nodded, listening seriously.

"I just felt like, I shouldn't. So, I didn't. I'm a grown women, if I can chose to have sex, I can chose not to." Bonnie inhaled as she leaned back, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.

"I completely agree, I didn't mean to shame you or anything." Care frowned, lying down beside her and pressing her face to her shoulder.

"You didn't. I just want to avoid feeling like... I'm expected to be with him, just because I'm married to him. Maybe we will end up, caring about each other that way. Maybe we will have sex eventually. But, eventually isn't now." Bonnie pursed her lips.

"I get it, I won't ask about that again unless you bring it up." Caroline promised, and she turned her head to look at her.

"No... I don't want it to be like that. Just, don't expect any 'pent house forum' grade details, at least not tonight." she chuckled.

Care nodded, "Okay.."

Bonnie looked back at the ceiling, and sighed.

"But, since you asked me to explain..." she started and Caroline smiled, anxious.

"Damon is... he's electric. On one hand, he's this clean cut, business man in a suit, who takes  
charge. On the other hand he's this, slightly scruffy, flannel pajama pants wearing, guy who sucks at bowling, who's silly..." she said slowly, her eyes flickering along the memories in her head.

"Over all, he's.. this, tall as hell, deviously handsome, sarcastic man who..." she took a breath,

"...is driving me crazy, Caroline."

Caroline just looked at her grinning.

"What?" Bonnie asked as she looked over at her.

"You two are perfect for each other." she replied, and Bonnie lifted a hand to hit her in the arm.

"Shut up." she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even kidding." Caroline shook her head and placed her arms above her head.

Bonnie sighed, "We should probably start getting my things packed."

She sat up from the bed and grabbed one of the lidded tubs sitting near her dresser.

Caroline got up too and started helping her

Bonnie packed her clothes in the bin, and then got another, packing her books and DVDs.

"What's he smell like?" Care asked rather randomly and Bonnie flushed pink.

"Caroline!" she laughed, and threw a stuffed animal at her.

* * *

 _Richmond, Virginia._

Damon had been sitting in this damned meeting for nearly an hour now, and he knew that he would be there another few hours. If he was lucky.

He knew it was important though, this meeting was about the budget for several of their schools in California and London. As well as deciding on if they were going to make the international trip to London, since they hadn't checked out the headquarters there personally for nearly two years.

"I see no harm in going to London for a few days." an adviser to the left of the table spoke, primarily to Giuseppe.

There were 8 other people at the table, 3 Deans, 2 advisers, and 3 general management of the main head quarters in Richmond.

"Question lies, is are you going, Sir, or is Damon?"

Damon tapped his pen along the table and leaned back in his chair a bit.

"London wants the meeting within the next two weeks, Giuseppe is busy for the next three."

"Guess that leaves you, Damon." Giuseppe said casually, taking a drink out of his coffee mug.

"I suppose I can't take Bonnie with me, can I?" Damon asked, knowing the answer but asking anyway.

"Absolutely not. You were supposed to meet Romano in Italy. That already got screwed up, I'm not going to risk you getting distracted again." Giuseppe said sternly.

"Who knows, you might ditch London for Disney World." he spoke to Damon like a child, as if he couldn't make his own mature choices.

Damon didn't reply though, honestly, this seemed warranted.

He was been supposed to meet with Romano, during the honeymoon in Italy. Bonnie didn't know this of course, so it was Damon fault having missed it.

"Have the jet set up for the 14th." Damon told one of the advisers.

"Got it... What date for the flight back?" she asked.

"How many do I have to meet with?" he asked, scribbling the date in his agenda.

"Two schools, along with the headquarters. Three meetings over all, one per day."

Damon sighed, "Okay, so three days. The flight is a little over 8 hours."

"I'll be leaving in the afternoon, make sure the jet is ready at 3pm, I should be there by 11pm, technically 4am there. First meeting Sunday 2pm, with headquarters, Second on Monday at noon, Third on Tuesday at 2pm, have the jet ready by 6pm, the last school meeting shouldn't take long." he told her and she nodded, getting everything down.

Damon wrote this down in his agenda and sighed, setting his pen down.

"Alright, now, about the merger?" the adviser turned towards his father.

He tapped on the table, tuning out from the conversation going on around him and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

 **Bonnie:** It's going okay, how is your day going?

Damon's blinked, not realizing she had replied to him earlier, then again his phone was on silent.

 **Damon:** It's a day, I suppose. Have you made it to my house yet?

He typed back slowly, phone near his lap before pressing send and turning his head back towards the conversation so it didn't look like he wasn't paying attention.

Damon looked back at the phone a few minutes later.

 **Bonnie:** Yup, I've been here for about twenty minutes now.

 **Bonnie:** I told your staff I could take my boxes up myself, but they disagreed I guess.

 **Bonnie:** Btw, it's going to take me a minute to get used to having staff.

His lips turned up at the corners, and he typed back.

 **Damon:** They're paid well, trust me.

He looked up quickly to check and see if anyone had noticed he was texting. No one had, so he looked back down.

 **Bonnie:** I don't doubt that, haha. Is your meeting going okay?

 **Damon:** I suppose so. Is everything going okay for you?

"Damon... Is this meeting not important to you?" Giuseppe asked from across the table.

He blinked and shoved is phone back into his pocket, looking up to see everyone's eyes on him.

"Of course, yes it is. Go on, the merger, we've decided to talk with London about it?" he asked, thankful for his multitasking ability.

His father sighed, "Just, pay attention."

Damon nodded, and his hand went back in his pocket, fingers tapping along his phone.

* * *

Bonnie was wandering around the large estate as the staff finished getting all her things upstairs.  
The house was huge, with more rooms than she knew what to do with, a ballroom, a kitchen three times the size as a normal kitchen, a living room, parlor, and god knows what else.

She was walking around the hallway, running her fingers along the painted wall, the rims of paintings.

Her phone vibrated again after a moment and she pulled it out.

 **Damon:** I suppose so. Is everything going okay for you?

She typed back.

 **Bonnie:** Good so far. What exactly does suppose to mean?

Bonnie wondered why Damon kept avoiding telling her whether his day was good, or bad. He just kept, "guessing" or "supposing" as if she was supposed to read his mind.

"Bonnie, there you are." Lily's voice came from the end of the hallway.

"Oh, Lily." she said slowly, turning around, suddenly caring a lot more about the words she'd said that morning.

"I just got home, I heard all your things are upstairs now?" Lily asked, walking over to her.

The woman looked a lot like Damon in the eyes, and she was taller than Bonnie was well.

She stepped over, wearing a knee length crème colored dress, black heels, pearls and her red hair straight beside her face.

"Yes, the staff was very helpful with that." Bonnie replied, shoving her hands in the pockets of the jeans she was now wearing.

"I see..." Lily said slowly.

Bonnie nodded, "Uh, about the conversation we had this morning... I apologize if I offended you."

"It was kind of distasteful." Lily replied, and Bonnie thought it was kind of rude, that she didn't just say it was okay, or even agree that she had been out of place, rather than Bonnie. But, she wasn't about to start anything, not when she hadn't even be living there a whole day.

"However, what was done was done." she continued.

Bonnie stood there, feeling kind of awkward around the woman.

"You must be something of a temptress to convince Damon not to go to Italy." Lily insisted, and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" she cleared her throat, and furrowed her brow.

"I don't mean to, cause offense. Damon just, has a taste for women. I know he wouldn't just skip out,  
for nothing."

Bonnie was unsure of how to reply, her words were a mess in her head, yet her mouth opened anyway.

"You did cause offense, however."

Lily blinked, "Well, did you not consummate? I'd think 3 days alone in a hotel room would be cause for some sort of something."

"We didn't have sex if that's what you're implying, Mrs. Salvatore. And, I'd be more comfortable, if you'd take several steps back on that topic." Bonnie said slowly, watching the woman smile a little and then shrug.

"You're married to my son, we'll just have to find a way to get along. Believe me, I really do want to like you, you seem like a sweet girl."

A few seconds later someone called Lily away and Bonnie inhaled, putting her hand on her forehead.

"And she seemed so nice at the wedding." she mumbled to herself, shaking her head.

"I mean, who the hell asks if someone consummated? No we didn't consummate, none of your business anyway." Bonnie grumbled, making her way back down the hallway.

Making her way up the spiral staircase, she found her way into Damon's bedroom, which was large, mostly dark wood painted colors, a blue covered bed, and her bins and boxes scattered about.

Shutting the door so she could have some privacy, she turned the dimmer light switch up about half way and kicked off her sneakers, sitting on his king size bed.

"Nice room." she whispered, pulling her phone from her pocket, but not seeing a response from Damon yet.

Standing up from the bed, she went to look around his room. Although, she knew she probably shouldn't snoop around. This man was her husband now, she kind of... had a right to snoop around.

He had a tall bookcase along one wall, half with books, half with movies and CD's. Bonnie ran her fingers along the book case, and over to his desk.

There was a knock on the door, and she let go of the drawer handle she was about to pull.

"Come in." she said slowly.

"Mrs. Bonnie. Your wanted for dinner downstairs." one of the staff, Julia said with a smile.

"Oh, thank you for telling me." Bonnie smiled and turned to walk out of the bedroom, following her.

Once she got downstairs, she was led to the smaller, family dining room where Stefan and Lily were sitting.

"Bonnie, glad to see you haven't ran away." Stefan teased, and she smiled back at him, sitting down in the chair furthest from Lily. Totally not purposefully.

"Well, it's still early." she replied, and received a chuckle in response.

The food was brought out to them, and Bonnie felt strange, being served in what was now her own home, but the Salvatore's lived differently than her. It wasn't a bad thing, just different.

It was kind of just now hitting her, she was about four times richer than she was before she married Damon.

"So, why don't you go to meetings, Stefan?" Bonnie asked as she ate.

"I'm not a head of the company, at least not yet. So, my presence there isn't needed." Stefan replied, but he didn't seem to mind not being a big part of the business.

"Technically, I take my dads place when he dies, or retires, whichever comes first... Or Damon, if he somehow ruins his place as co-owner." he continued, and she nodded, trying to avoid looking at Lily who was clearly staring at her.

Bonnie continued eating and was almost done with her food by the time Lily spoke up.

"You know, Damon can't just drop meetings to do whatever you'd like." she said slowly, and Bonnie blinked, unsure of where this was coming from.

"Oh, I don't expect him to do that, I assure you." she replied taking a drink of water, deciding not to have any wine. The last thing she needed was to over do it, and with Lily around, she felt like she would probably.

"Hmm." Lily mumbled, focusing back on her food.

Bonnie suddenly got the impression that Damon's family, or parents anyway, were a lot more controlling than she realized.

It made her kind of sad, but one thing she knew, was she did want them to like her. The last thing she wanted was her new family hating her or something. She'd bite her tongue when she could, and just nod, be nice. Do whatever she needed to do, for them to like her. Because, that was the point of this.

Marrying into a new family.

What was the point if they didn't get along? To be miserable?

Bonnie was not about that, she wanted a semi-good relationship with the Salvatore's at least.

Dinner lasted a rather long hour, with occasional talking, then dessert.

Finally Bonnie just wanted to get back upstairs where she could actually think.

"Excuse me, I'm going to go up to bed." Bonnie said slowly, standing up from the table.

"It's a little early, but you're excused." Lily said quietly.

Bonnie noticed her looking over at the chair, she assumed Giuseppe would've been sitting in.

She turned and started away from the table, going upstairs.

Once she was upstairs she pulled off her clothes, putting a pair of her very much missed pajamas on, and crawled over onto the bed.

Her phone was lit up when she looked over at it, and she grabbed it, seeing Damon had replied.

 **Damon:** I'll be honest, it's been rather boring.

She nodded, and pursed her lips.

 **Bonnie:** Sorry about that. I just got done with dinner.

She got up and shut the door she'd forgotten to shut and turned the light a little dimmer in case she fell asleep.

Bonnie moved back over, sitting on the bed and leaning against the headboard as she looked at her phone once more.

 **Damon:** Hope my mother didn't scare you.

She smiled a little.

 **Bonnie:** It wasn't that bad.

Suddenly, her phone started ringing, and it was Caroline.

"Hello?" she answered, moving to lay down on her back.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how the house is, how the fam is." Care said from the other end.

Bonnie chuckled, "It's alright, the house is fantastic.'

"And, the family?" she asked.

"Well, that's another thing, I really don't want to talk about."

"Alright, has Damon gotten home yet?" Caroline asked, and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"All you care about is my interaction with Damon." she accused.

"Well, yeah. If I'm honest." Care chuckled.

Bonnie smiled, "No, he's not home yet. I'm in bed though, I'll probably be asleep by the time he gets home."

"Ohh, you're in bed. Your guy's bed, yours and Damon bed, Damon and yours bed..." Caroline started to tease her.

"Oh hush. Yes, it's technically, our bed." she replied.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"You know, I never ever, thought you'd be married right now." Caroline said slowly.

"Neither did I. Arranged marriages are common, but I never saw it for myself," Bonnie admitted, and rested one of her arms above her head.

"Why do you think they're normal? Besides the, publicity, and money?" Care asked.

Bonnie blinked, trying to think about this.

"I don't know, not really. I mean, I guess over the years, people decided marrying into families, combining famous families, in order to place yourself higher, get more attention, was just a good idea. And, I think it's difficult to find someone who loves you, so, if you're going to end up with someone, why not someone who aids your wealth?" she replied, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, makes sense... In a weird, rich people way."

"Thanks, Care." Bonnie laughed.

"You know, I didn't mean that you're weird." Caroline replied.

Bonnie nodded to herself, "This situation is weird though, I feel kind of over whelmed."

"Why don't you write it all down?" she asked.

"I'm not starting a blog, Caroline!" Bonnie sighed.

"No, I mean like, just a journal. I know you've always turned that idea down, but what better time than now?"

"Hmm, maybe. I mean, I could give it a shot." she replied, moving her toes along the blanket near her feet.

* * *

It was late when Damon got home, the whole house was quiet, his dad hadn't come home along with him, but he wasn't about to get involved in whatever was going on with his father.

He didn't bother turning on any lights, just headed up the stairs through the darkness, making his way to his bedroom.

Once he got to the door, he opened it to see the light off, and the moonlight was shining through the curtains lighting up the room just enough for him to see.

Damon shut the door behind him, pulling off his suit jacket, taking off his shoes.

Walking over, he saw the figure of Bonnie lying on the bed, facing away from him, wrapped in the dark blanket.

"You awake?" he whispered, and after several moments received no answer, so he assumed it was safe for him to get undressed and put his pajamas on.

Damon stepped over to his closet and started to get undressed.

Bonnie had been mostly asleep, although she didn't hear him say anything, a few moments later, she heard his ruffling.

Slowly, she rolled over, eyes still closed and nuzzled her face in the pillow.

But, after a moment, she fluttered her eyes open and saw Damon standing there, back towards her, with his pajama pants on, but still had his dress shirt on.

Damon turned around towards the bed, and she closed her eyes a little bit, but not all the way.

Bonnie watched as she unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off and grabbed a t-shirt. Her tired eyes, ran over his chest and she swallowed.

She'd already admitted to Caroline that Damon was attractive, and it was an obvious trait of his, so what was the harm in looking at the man?

Damon pulled on the t-shirt and his socks, before walking over and quietly crawling into bed underneath the covers, not wanting to wake her up.

However, he noticed she was turned the other way, where he had been getting dressed.

Bonnie exhaled sleepily and rolled back over, uncomfortable sleeping on that side.

Her eyes were closed now, and Damon just looked at her face through the darkness.

"Bonnie?" he said softly.

Bonnie attempted to pretend to be asleep.

"I know you're awake."

She couldn't help but smile and her eyelids fluttered open again.

"Hey." she replied, wondering what time it was.

"You just get home?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, it's midnight." Damon replied, and she blinked.

"Wow, long meeting huh?" she asked, scooting a little closer.

"And drive home." he sighed, looking tired and frustrated.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Do you have a meeting tomorrow?"

"No, thankfully." he replied, rolling over onto his side.

"That's good." she said quietly, and yawned, closing her eyes again.

After a second or to, right when she was about to fall asleep again, Damon asked...

"Were you watching me get dressed?"

"Nope." Bonnie lied.

"Are you staring at me?" she asked, feeling his eyes on her face.

"Not at all." Damon lied too, and she laughed.

"Liar." she accused, and he shook a little with a chuckle.

"You're a liar." he said with a tired smile.

Bonnie reached out, to tiredly pat his face once and then inhaled, ready to fall asleep again.

Damon closed his eyes, then reached over, and put a hand on Bonnie's side.

He pulled her closer, until he could wrap his arm around her, then laid his forehead against her shoulder, and she let him.


	8. Something About Her Just Gets to Me

_'People fall in love in mysterious ways, maybe it's all part of a plan' - Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran  
_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8** \- Something About Her Just Gets to Me _

When Bonnie's eyelids fluttered open some hours later, the sun was peering through the opened curtains, causing her vision to blur for a moment. Swallowing, she exhaled a little, her body shifting underneath the cool covers and she realized Damon wasn't beside her. Or else the sun wouldn't have been staring her straight in the face.

"Damon?" she said slowly, turning her head again and she was greeted by a low, "Shhh."

Bonnie lifted her head and looked in front of her to see Damon walking quietly back into the room, pushing the door closed with his bare foot.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he reached the bed.

"My parents are about to leave." Damon said sitting down, holding a carton of orange juice.

Bonnie licked her lips, her mind still kind of tired, she just looked at him like, 'uh okay'.

"They think we're asleep, if they notice we're awake my mother will want to talk." he explained, scratching at his past 5 o'clock shadow.

"Is that why you're drinking out of an orange juice carton?" she asked, sitting up in bed, the blanket falling to her lap.

Damon had the circular nozzle up at his lips and he chuckled before swallowing.

"The cabinets are squeaky." he insisted and looked at the wild mess of hair around the woman's face.

Bonnie's lips turned upwards and she ran her fingers through her hair.

"So are we home alone, or is Stefan here?" she asked while she stretched her arms above her head.

"Alone." Damon replied, taking another drink.

"My parents are going back to Georgia for a week or so." he said, with some orange juice running along a corner of his mouth.

Bonnie nodded, "You have some ah..." she touched her own face, but he wiped at the wrong side of his mouth.

"Here, I got it." she reached over and used her thumb to wipe the corner of his mouth and then brushed it on the bottom of her shirt.

"Thanks." Damon smiled at her and offered her the carton.

She shrugged and took it, taking a drink from it and swallowing before holding it in her lap.

"Is there Champagne in this?" Bonnie asked, licking her lips.

"Probably, it was hidden in the back of the fridge." he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so someone's gonna be out of luck when they go looking for their mimosa carton." she chuckled and shook her head handing the carton back to him.

Damon shrugged, "They should've labeled it."

Bonnie smiled and watched him take another drink.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"About 10 am." he replied, running a hand through his dark messy hair.

"You have class today?" Damon asked her, and she shook her head.

"We have an hour rehearsal later, but it'll probably be two hours." Bonnie chuckled, and rubbed at her face.

Maybe it was everything that had gone on the last few days, but she felt reluctant to go into ballet. Honestly, she'd rather skip out; but, if she missed anymore time, there was no telling if she'd even be in the show.

"I can drive you." he offered.

"Sure, that'd be nice." she smiled and tossed the blanket off of her.

"I'm pretty sure your parents are gone now." Bonnie noted, standing up and stretched her arms above her head again.

Damon stood up as well, "Yeah, I heard the door close."

"How much is left in that?" she asked, pointing at the carton that now had the lid screwed on.

"I don't know, like a few drinks." he replied, and she pursed her lips.

"What?" Damon asked, but Bonnie quickly step over, grabbed the carton from his hand and rushed for the door.

"Hey!" he called.

She opened the bedroom door and ran down the hall and down the stairs. Damon chased after her, but he wasn't quite fast enough. Bonnie, laughing, made it to the kitchen before him.

Unscrewing the lid, the tilted the carton to her mouth and drank the remaining juice. Damon got there, stopping front of her as she had a mouth full of juice.

"You heathen!" Damon chided and a laugh burst up from her stomach, causing her to spit the orange juice out across the room, some of it spraying onto Damon's t-shirt and neck.

Bonnie gasped, "Oh my god! I'm sorry." she closed her eyes, shaking with laughter.

Damon stood there, processing that he had orange juice along the front of him and reached up to wipe some off his lips.

"That's okay, I've been thinking about a juice cleanse." he whispered, and Bonnie tossed the empty carton in the trash.

She walked over pulling some paper towels off the rack and stepping over to pat dry his face.

"You don't have to do that." Damon said but she continued patting his face, then pulled her hand away.

"On the bright side, you smell like a fruit salad." Bonnie snickered and he narrowed his eyes at her.

Bonnie touched his cheek with her pointer finger.

"Lil' sticky though." she licked her finger.

"I'm going to hop in the shower, before you start eating me." Damon teased and she rolled her eyes.

"You go do that." Bonnie turned around to open the fridge while he made his way back up stairs.

Looking in the fridge she furrowed her brow.

"It looks like the depression in here." she moved around a few bottle of alcohol, only to reveal a half package of cheese, a head of lettuce, some apples, a jug of milk with maybe 10 oz left and a wrapped up avocado half.

Bonnie closed the fridge and found the bread, making herself some toast. After eating it, she decided it might be a good idea to get some groceries. After all, it was her house now, she needed some food she wanted to eat. Not to mention, she needed to get some snacks to restock her mini fridge.

Walking up the stairs she opened the bedroom door, she could hear the shower running.

"Still need to unpack all my crap." she mumbled to herself, finding her clothing.

Pulling out a pair of black leggings, light blue long sleeve shirt, bra, socks, comb and a brown coat, she laid it all out on the bed.

Pulling off her pajamas, she put her bra on and started to pull her leggings on. The waist band snapped above her hips and she reached for the shirt.

The water turned off, and she quickly pulled on the shirt.

Grabbing her socks and coat, she turned around to leave, only to see Damon standing there, a towel wrapped around his lower half.

"Oh, sorry!" she blinked, her cheeks going light pink as she glanced the dampness of his chest.

Bonnie grabbed her comb as well, and hurried back downstairs.

Once she was down stairs, her heart beating a bit faster she set her things down on the stair railing and combed her hair blindly.

Sliding on her socks, and coat she looked around, trying to remember where she took off her shoes the night before.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, once he had walked down the stairs, dressed in jeans, and a black button up shirt .

"To get some more orange juice, and other things." Bonnie said sliding on her sneakers.

"You don't have to do that." he said with a chuckle.

She rolled her eyes, "Your fridge looks like the food moved out."

"Oh, yeah, the staff doesn't usually restock the fridge until Friday." Damon fixed the collar on his shirt.

Bonnie looked to the side, "Okay, well, it's Thursday, and I have two fully functioning legs, so. " she looked back at him.

"I'm gonna go to the grocery store." she grabbed her keys off the key rack near the door, shoving her phone in her coat pocket.

She opened the door and looked back at him, "Do you want to come?"

Damon pursed his lips.

"Sure, why not." he felt his jeans pocket to make sure his phone and wallet was there.

"Okay, we're taking my car." Bonnie said and stepped out the front door, Damon following behind her, closing and locking the door.

Once they got into Bonnie's car, they headed down the road. It was snowing very lightly out, the first snow of the year. It was pretty early, but it would most likely be the last snow until December, at least that was assumed.

"I should probably mention this, I have an international meeting starting on the 14th." Damon told her as they traveled along the road.

"Oh, to where?" she questioned, both hands on the steering wheel.

"London." he said, resting one of his arms on the door.

Bonnie blinked, "Oh, wow, London."

Damon looked over at her, "I would bring you, but it's all business." he explained, although he didn't exactly want to tell her his father had 'insisted' that he not bring Bonnie.

"Of course, I understand..." she nodded.

"How long will you be gone?" Bonnie asked, turning into the parking lot of a Meijer.

"About 3 days, it's fairly short flight to and from. 8 hours." he unbuckled his seat belt.

She unbuckled hers, feeling a little.. was that sad? That was understandable, she didn't have be away from Damon for 3 days on her bucket list. Plus, this probably meant she'd have to talk to Lily more than she wanted.

However, it was more than a week from then, she didn't need to worry about it.

Bonnie shoved her keys in her pocket and got out of the car, Damon stepped over to her.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Damon reached into is pocket.

"What?" she asked, shutting her door and pressing the lock button on the control.

He held a silver band engagement ring, with a circle of small diamonds encasing a emerald in the center.

"You could of course just wear your wedding band, but most women prefer the engagement ring, and since we didn't have an engagement..."

Bonnie blinked, "Oh, you didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to." Damon stated.

"Every woman should have a sparkly engagement ring." he smiled.

Bonnie took the ring from his fingers and slid it onto her ring finger, in front of the wedding band.

Looking down at it, it.. well, it was stunning. Her favorite stone was emerald, but she didn't remember telling him that.

"At the wedding, you told me you loved emeralds." Damon said, almost reading her thoughts.

She blinked, "Oh, yeah, I guess I did."

"Do you like it?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It's perfect." Bonnie whispered, before looking up at the man towering above her.

Damon smiled, "Good."

She cleared her throat and walked past him, grabbing a cart from one of the corals.

"Thank you." Bonnie said as she pushed the cart with him walking beside her through the slight snow fall.

"You're welcome." he chuckled, and they walked through the self opening doors into the buzzing grocery store.

-beep- the sound of customers scanning their things at the self checkout hit their ears.

"Let's start in the fruit." Bonnie said turning the cart that way and heading over.

"What, are we gonna make our own orange juice?" Damon teased, and she shook her head.

"You say that as if it's implausible." she grabbed a plastic bag from a stand and swooshed it open with her left hand.

He smirked, "Well, if you want to make your own juice, I'm not stopping you."

"Lucky for you, no I'm not going to make my own juice." Bonnie walked over to the cucumbers and placed a few in the bag.

Walking back over, she placed them in the cart.

"Why don't I push the cart?" Damon asked, and she shrugged, letting him push the cart as she grabbed another bag.

Bonnie stepped over, checking some banana's before placing them in the bag.

"You want some strawberries?" he asked stepping over to them.

"Do you like strawberries?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Then get them." Bonnie chuckled, watching him place some in the cart.

"Wait, did you check the bottom?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow.

She stepped over to him, grabbed the plastic bin of strawberries lifting it up so she could check the bottom.

"Yeah, see the ones on the bottom are kind of mushy." Bonnie set them back and lifted another up.

"Yup, those too." she whispered.

"You want them to be bright and not mushy." she explained.

Damon blinked and started doing the same thing.

"What about these?" he asked, and she looked.

"Oh, perfect." she smiled and took them from him, setting them in the basket.

Damon continued pushing the cart as she walked beside him.

"Are done with the fruit and vegetables now?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Yup." Bonnie lead him out towards the main isles.

"Are we just going to walk through every isle and grab whatever you want?" he asked.

"That's the plan." Bonnie said smiling.

"Don't normal people make lists?" Damon inquired, turning down isle 1.

She pursed her lips, "Yes, they do." she started.

"But, we don't really have a limit on what we can spend, so." Bonnie shrugged.

"So, normal people make lists and, even if they want something else, they don't get it?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, playing with her.

She turned and glared at him.

"Stop messing with me... I'm not the one who has staff who grocery shop for me." Bonnie put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, are you saying you wouldn't grocery shop for someone if they paid you $2,000 a week?" Damon asked her.

She nodded, "Touche." she turned back around as they walked down the frozen dessert isle.

"I'm not judging you, believe me. I'm just used to doing things differently." she said opening a door and pulling out a thing of chocolate ice cream.

"I mean, I could afford to have staff, cooks, maids, butlers, before we married but... I never saw the need."

Damon nodded, "No, I get it. You grew up without that, I grew up with it."

"Right." Bonnie nodded, grabbing a few more things.

Some time later and they had made it to the chips isle, their cart half full.

"I got it." Damon chuckled, when she tried to push the cart while he was grabbing pringles.

"You got it? You're slower than a turtle!" Bonnie teased.

"Mhm." he rolled his eyes and she moved a little bit away from the cart.

Hunching over a little, she put a hand on her back, and pretended to be walking very slowly with a cane.

"Okay, that's a little dramatic." Damon stopped the cart and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh no, I can't hear you, I'm so old..." Bonnie put a hand to her ear like she was trying to hear better.

He shook his head and continued down the isle.

* * *

Several more isle's later and they were smack in the alcohol section.

"Don't even think about it!" she said smacking his hand away from the bourbon.

Damon turned to look at her.

"Why not?" he asked, with a smirk.

"Uh, because your fridge looks like a bar." Bonnie replied and he tilted his head downwards a little.

"You're not getting any." she said pursing her lips.

"And you're going to stop me?" Damon asked, looking at her with smoldering eyes.

She blinked, "Do you wanna test me?"

"I think I might." he replied, grinning crookedly and she rolled her eyes.

Turning around, she looking at the wine, trying to pick one or two.

Suddenly, Damons arms were around her waist and he was holding her from behind.

"Uh..." Bonnie mumbled, surprised.

"There's a paparazzi to the left." he explained with a chuckle, and she could see the small flash of a camera from the corner of her eye.

She was beginning to wonder if Damon had a app that alerted the paparazzi of his whereabouts.

After a second, he backed away, and she placed two bottles of wine in the cart.

"Oh, crap, lemons. I forgot the lemons." Bonnie sighed and turned around.

"I asked you if we were done in the fruit, you said yeah." Damon shook his head.

Her lips vibrated, "Does, I forgot the lemons, not mean anything?" she asked.

"I'll go get them." he insisted and she nodded.

"Okay, but, make sure there's no brown spots." Bonnie pointed at him.

"I will... definitely do my best." Damon pointed back at her and turned, walking away.

Bonnie probably should've stayed in one place, but she started roaming around, grabbing a few other things from the food isle, the orange juice they'd originally planned on getting and ended up in the clothing section.

Okay, maybe she purposely ended up in the clothing section.

After grabbing several dresses, sweaters, shirts and a pair of shoes, she realized Damon was probably wondering where the heck she was.

So, she headed back to the chip alcohol isle.

However, there were several people blocking the main isle with the carts, so she had to go around in the adjoining isles. Two of them being the baby isles.

She walked through the diapers, and the wipes, the powder. Not phased at all, but as she started down the next isle, the bottles, the formula, the tiny pacifiers, she got distracted.

Bonnie stopped, running her hands along a row of small, infant sized pacifiers. She had only stopped for a second, but suddenly, she felt a presence beside her.

"There you are." Damon said from beside her and she blinked, being pulled from her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry." she said and took the bag of lemons from his hand.

"Thanks." she smiled and set them in the cart.

Damon looked over, to the pacifiers that she had been looking at.

"Do you want kids?" he asked, and she blinked, looking back over at row.

"Well, I've never actually, sat and thought about it, in a serious way. But, in general? Yeah, I want kids." Bonnie replied honestly, her green eyes scanning the little pacifiers with fun decorations along the handle.

Damon looked at her face, for the first time in, he didn't know how long, he felt... hopeful. He would be lying if he said that something about Bonnie wasn't starting to get to him.

"Alright, I think were done, we can go check out." Bonnie cleared her throat and motioned to him, that he could push the cart.

He followed behind her to the check outs, chuckling when she tried to casually explain the clothing.

* * *

30 minutes later and the two of them were standing in the kitchen, having put away the groceries, despite the staffs insisting on helping.

"I have never seen someone ask so many times, if they can put the groceries away." Bonnie chuckled, flipping a grilled cheese that was cooking in a skillet.

Damon leaned against the counter, "I've never seen someone insist they don't need help so many times." he smirked.

Bonnie placed the grilled cheese on a plate and turned the burner off.

"Here's yours." she handed him a plate, then took her own.

"Thanks." he said, while walking over to the fridge and grabbing a miniature bottle of hot sauce from the door.

Bonnie headed out of the kitchen and was going to go into the living room until Damon grabbed her elbow a little.

"Follow me." he told her and she looked at him, curious; but followed him down the hallway.

They turned down the hallway near the end, then down another, which Bonnie hadn't gone down the night before and it grew a little darker, since there weren't any windows.

"Sorry, it's a little dark." Damon apologized, and she heard a door open, then a light switched on as they turned into the room.

Bonnie blinked, taking in the room. It was huge, spreading out yards on all sides, primarily dark wooded, and every single wall was a book shelve.

"Holy..." she whispered, looking around and as far as she could see, there wasn't a single space left for another book.

"This is the library, it's the first room that was built of the house in 1902." Damon explained turning around to look at her.

"There must be a thousand books in here." Bonnie's eyes were the size of the moon, as she took in what was around her.

He smiled at her, and moved to sit down in a leather love seat several feet from them, with a coffee table in front of it.

"A couple thousand at most." Damon teased and she sat down beside him.

She bit into her sandwich as watched as he poured hot sauce beside his.

"Gross." Bonnie said with her mouth full, and he rolled his eyes.

"It's good." he insisted, dipping his sandwich in the red liquid and then biting it.

She shook her head.

"Here, try." Damon offered her the bottle.

"Nope." Bonnie said looking away from him.

"Come on." he shoved her playfully.

She looked back at him, "No, it's yucky!" she crinkled her nose.

"Nuhuh." he smiled.

Bonnie sighed, "Fine."

Damon grinned and poured a few drops on the edge of her grilled cheese.

She just looked at it for a second, with narrowed eyes like she was trying to police it.

Finally, she took the bite and her eye twitched for a second.

Damon just looked at her, watching her swallow and then lick her lips, thinking.

"How is it?" he asked.

She nodded a little, "Alright, not bad." she coughed.

"However, my tongue might possible be numb." Bonnie took another bite of the sandwich in order to get the feeling back in her tongue.

Damon chuckled.

After a few minutes they were both done with their sandwiches, Bonnie looked over at him.

"Do you want kids?" she asked, kind of randomly.

"What?" he said, looking over at her.

"You asked me in the store, if I wanted kids." Bonnie reminded him and he nodded.

"Oh, yeah.." Damon cleared his throat.

"I haven't really ever thought about it." he said slowly.

"Really? I mean, you wanted to marry Lucia, so you thought about marriage at least once." she brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

He bit his lower lips before speaking.

"Honestly, I think I do want kids." he started.

"But, they are cute."

Bonnie smiled a little, "Yeah, they are."

Her phone started to ring, and vibrate from beside her and she picked it up, seeing her father was the one calling.

"Hi, dad." she said as she pressed answer, putting the phone up to her ear.

"Hi hun, I hope your not busy." Rudy said from the other end.

"Oh, no." Bonnie replied.

"I'm stopping by tonight, there's a break in the tour, I would like to meet Damon." he told her.

She blinked, "Alright, well, what time are you getting here?"

"Around 4." her father said.

"Okay, hold on."

Bonnie put the phone to her chest and looked at Damon.

"My dad's coming into down during a break in the tour tonight and wants to meet you, is any time tonight okay?" she asked Damon.

"Yeah, I don't have anything." Damon smiled.

She put the phone back to her ear.

"Alright, I have class, but we can meet you for dinner." Bonnie told her dad.

"Where and what time sweetheart?" Rudy asked.

"How about, Buca di beppo, at 6?" she asked.

"Sounds, great, I'll see you then."

Bonnie hung up the phone and set it on the coffee table beside her empty plate.

"So, Buca di beppo, huh?" Damon asked.

"Yup, it's our favorite Italian place." she explained.

"Ironic." he said casually

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "How is that?"

Damon ran a hand through his hair combed hair, messing it up.

"Beh, perche io parlo Italiano, miele." he spoke, with a smirk on his face.

Her lips turned upwards a little, "I'm going to guess, that you said you speak Italian."

"Si, e correcto." Damon grinned and scooted closer to her.

Bonnie tilted her head to the side.

"That's not really a surprise, your last name is Salvatore after all."

"ll vostro un asino intelligente." he said with a chuckle.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Did you just call me a smart ass in Italian?" she asked.

"Si." Damon smiled.

"Well, 'asino intelligente' to you too." Bonnie shoved him a little.

* * *

"I don't think my father cares what tie you wear." Bonnie said from across the room as she looked in the tall mirror along one wall.

She was dressed still in her black leggings, with a hip length red chiffon shirt with a keyhole neckline, and nude toned heels.

"I honestly don't think you even need to wear a tie." she said when he didn't reply, and she turned around to look at Damon. His eyes were narrowed as he thought way to hard about which tie to wear. There were several hanging along his closet door.

Bonnie stepped over, and touched the collar of his white button up.

"You're not going to want to wear this shirt." she told him, and he looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked, looking down at his shirt.

"The primary colors in Italian food are red, and grease." Bonnie said with a chuckle.

"Grease isn't a color." he said raising an eyebrow.

"When you're wearing a white shirt it is." she shook her head and took a step back from him.

She walked back over to the mirror as she put her hair up in pony tail and checked to make sure her shirt was even.

"What do you think I should wear then?" Damon asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"I don't know." Bonnie said, seeing his reflection in the mirror, and it distracted her for a second.

He pulled his shirt off completely, turned around and pulled two other shirts out of his closet.

"Nero o blu?" Damon asked in Italian and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll wear black." he said when she didn't reply.

"No, wear the blue." Bonnie said as she turned around.

"Why?" he asked, still holding both shirts.

She walked over to him.

"Because you look good in blue." she replied slowly, stopped 2 feet in front of him.

Damon smirked, reached over to put the black shirt back in the closet, and close the door.

Bonnie's eyes ran along his broad shoulders and chest for a moment, but that was kind of difficult not to do when your head stops at his shoulders, although, the heels made her about two inches taller.

He pulled on the shirt, slowly buttoning it from the bottom up.

"You look good in blue too." he said after a second, and watched her cheeks flush with heat.

Damon liked when that happened.

"I'll remember that." Bonnie said with a small smile, and watched him button the last button of the shirt.

"You know..." he started, and she blinked looked at his face.

"I don't know if I like it when you wear heels." Damon teased.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't even make another joke about how short am I. I'm aware."

He chuckled, and looked down at her.

"I like how short you are, that's all I was applying." he said softly, eyes pouring into her face.

 _There he goes, being intense again._

Bonnie swallowed, "Well, I... enjoy how tall you are." she said placing her hands behind her back.

"Do you now?" Damon asked, and his voice got a bit deeper.

She nodded, her chest getting a little tighter and she knew that it was because of him. Whether or not she wanted to admit it.

"Stop it." Bonnie smiled and hit him in the shoulder.

"I can't, it's just me." he smirked and she shook her head, reaching up to fix the collar on his shirt.

"Alright, we should get going." she said and turned, grabbing her phone, and heading back downstairs.

Damon followed behind her with his keys and shoving his phone in his pocket.

"Hey, I never asked, how did class go today?" he asked, although he had picked her up, she seemed hesitant to talk about it earlier in the day.

Bonnie sighed, "I don't really want to talk about it right now." she grabbed her coat off the hook and pulled it on.

Damon nodded, and let her walk out ahead of him as he closed and locked the door, but as he walked to his car, he realized for the first time, he actually wanted to know what had happened. Usually when he asked people how they were, he expected a generic response, and was okay with it, but not this time. Not with Bonnie.

"Well, whenever you want to talk about it." he said slowly, opening the car door for her.

She smiled at him, "Thanks."

He watched as she got into the car, and shut her door, then walked over and got into the drivers seat.

"Have you been to Buca di beppo?" Bonnie asked him after buckling as they headed down the road.

"Not in a very long time, no." Damon replied, tapping his fingers along the steering wheel.

She nodded and turned her head to look out the window.

That day at class had been... Well, it wasn't a surprise, but it was difficult none the less. She was used to being pushed to the back, used in the rehearsal for the main, but not in the show. Bonnie knew she was a great dancer, and she loved dancing. But, it wasn't just her poor treatment that was making her weary. She was just... growing bored, tired, and while she used to be excited to practice, now she felt like she was just running through the motions.

What a great time to realize she wasn't as happy in ballet as she thought... Right after someone married her because of her ballet background.

"I think I'm going the right way." Damon said after a moment, and she blinked, pulling herself back to reality and looked out the windshield.

"Yeah, were almost there." she said quietly, fiddling with the zipper on her coat.

Once they had pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Bonnie got out before Damon could and waited in front of the car for him.

"The res is under Salvatore." she reminded him, although that should've been obvious.

She wasn't really used to her last name being Salvatore yet. She was thinking about getting it changed to Bennett-Salvatore, but then again she could just say it was that, rather than pay money and fill out a bunch of paper work.

She was still waiting on all her brand new ID's with her new name on them.

Ugh, that reminded her, she needed to refill out all her paperwork at the doctors office.

The two of them walked up to the restaurant, but Damon stopped when they got to the door.

"My hair look okay?" he asked, turning to look at her.

Bonnie blinked, and her lips turned upwards.

"Are you nervous to meet my dad?" she asked.

"What.. no..." Damon scoffed, shaking his head.

She reached up, having to put her arm straight in the air, in order to brush a small curl of his hair from the side of his forehead.

"Well, rock-star, yes your hair looks good enough to meet my dad." Bonnie teased and put her hand down.

Damon blushed, and she smiled even bigger, linking her arm with his and walking into the restaurant.

Something was different, she didn't know what, but everything just flowed with him. Even when they fought, or picked at each other, the last few days had been... oddly normal. She didn't feel like she was pushing anything, or trying too hard. Not with him, not with Damon.

Once they got to the counter, the woman asked for their reservation name.

"Salvatore." Damon replied, and she grabbed two menu's and lead them through the restaurant.

It was dimly lit, as most authentic Italian restaurants are, with large tables, booths, tons of photographs of celebrities, some so old that you had to look really close to see who was in the photo.

'un angelo disteso al sole' was playing at a low volume through the restaurant.

"Here you are." the hostess set the menu's down.

"Your waiter will be over shortly."

Bonnie turned her head and looked at the table, smiling when she saw her father in the booth.

Rudy stood up, "Sweetheart." he chuckled, and leaned over to wrap his arms around her for a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"Hi Daddy." she hugged him back, and then pulled away, sliding into the booth.

"And, you, Damon Salvatore." Rudy smiled and held a hand out.

"Mr. Hopkins." Damon said slowly, shaking the mans hand.

"It's nice to meet the man my daughters married too." he chuckled and patted Damon on the shoulder before sitting down in the booth.

Damon sat down beside Bonnie and loosened his collar a bit.

"It's nice to meet my wife's father." he joked, and Bonnie smiled a little.

Bonnie and Damon opened their menu's.

They picked three things, that all 3 of them would share. Since, the plates are bigger than any of them could even begin to try and eat by themselves.

"My dad and I have a habit of coming here, and ordering so much food, that we end up sitting here for hours, eating slowly, and still have left overs." Bonnie talked, a few minutes after their order was taken.

"You really like food huh?" Damon asked her, tilting the glass of red wine to his lips.

"She more than likes food, she loves it. You'd never think she could eat as much as she can." Rudy chuckled.

"Dad..." Bonnie glared at him and he waved her off.

"Who doesn't though?" she asked, tapping her pointer finger on her wine glass.

Damon nodded, "I love to cook, although I don't get to often."

"Really? You ever take any classes?" Rudy asked him.

He shook his head, "Oh, no. Just a luck passion."

"Well, it's good, because Bonnie cannot cook for the life of her." he teased.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I can kind of cook."

"Grilled cheese, pancakes, mac n cheese. Sure." Rudy chuckled.

"That's still food!" she insisted, "Plus, I can make potatoes in every way possible, and fried zucchini."

"Oh, yes, her fried zucchini is amazing." she smiled.

Damon pursed his lips, "I've never had fried zucchini."

"Hah, Bonnie, you actually make something the cook hasn't." her dad took a drink from his glass.

Bonnie smiled, "I'll have to make it for you sometime."

"I guess you will." Damon smirked, swirling his wine around in the glass.

"So, Damon, I feel like you two get along pretty well." Rudy noted.

He nodded, "Your daughter is, a very nice woman, not that difficult to get along with her." he smiled.

"I'm glad, I want her to be happy, even the circumstances are strange."

Bonnie smiled over at her dad.

"Honestly, that's really considerate of you. A lot of parents couldn't care less how their children feel." Damon said, clearing his throat, trying not to get into detail about his own family.

Bonnie frowned a bit, but Rudy spoke before she could.

"Trust, I want you to be happy too. Bonnie didn't just join your family, you joined hers."

Damon nodded a little, exhaling.

"You're right, and... I am.." he started, "..happy so far."

The waiter brought their food over, and Rudy poured more wine for them, holding up his glass.

"A toast." he said.

Bonnie and Damon lifted their glasses as well.

"To both of you, and your new life together."

"To new life." they said at the same time and clinked their glasses together.

Damon looked over to smile at Bonnie, the same time she looked over at him, and Rudy just smiled at Bonnie and his son in law, with a look of knowing in his eyes.

As he watched his daughter and Damon, look at each other, it was so apparent; the sparkle that their iris' did when they met, blinking in union, like they didn't want to be looking at the other, unless the other was looking at them.

"Alright, lets get these plates split up." Bonnie said after a second, grabbing the extra plates and laying them out on the table.

Damon helped spoon all three different foods onto their plates and several moments later, they were all eating.

Damon was glad Bonnie had told him not to wear a white shirt, as 5 bites into his food and he had already spilled sauce on his collar.

"This is.. ughhgmm." Bonnie mumbled, mouth half full of food, and Damon chuckled, swallowing the food that was in his mouth and taking a drink of wine.

He looked over at her, seeing that a large lock of her hair, near the side of her head had fallen out and was doomed to be dipped in her food.

As Bonnie started to take another bite, he reached over and brushed her hair behind her ear and she blinked.

Swallowing her food she smiled, "Thank you."

Damon smiled back at her and continued eating his food...

* * *

Hours later and the front door handle jiggled as Damon unlocked it, the door opened with a woosh and Bonnie was the first to fly into the house, kicking off her shoes clear across the room.

"Woah, hey." Damon laughed and walked in closing the door behind him.

"It's dark!" Bonnie laughed and fumbled her way across there room to find the stairs.

The living room light was on, so Damon was sure Stefan must be home then.

"Did you g-grab the take out boxes?" she asked him, a little buzzed, started up the dark stair way.

Damon stayed right behind her in case she fell, for once he actually hadn't drank that much. One of them had to be the responsible driver, and well, let's just say Bonnie didn't drive home.

"Yes, I did, I set them on the table by the door, I'll put them in the fridge once I get you upstairs."

Bonnie turned around sharply on the stairs, he put an arm out, worried she'd fall.

"You don't need to take me anywhere, I can go." she insisted with a smile.

"Okay, then you're taking me upstairs." Damon said with a chuckle.

"Alright." she turned back around and started yawning as they made it to the top of the stairs.

"Maybe I am a little buzzed." Bonnie chuckled, and he rolled his eyes.

"That's what I was saying in the car." he smirked and walked with a hand behind her back, just barely touching her.

Bonnie sighed, "I think my dad liked you, so that's good."

"He's definitely different than my father." Damon said taking off his shoes once they got into the bedroom.

Bonnie's things were for the most part taken out. Her clothing was hung up in half of 'his' now technically their closet.

His black curtains were replaced by purple ones he let her put up... Let, meaning, she chased him, using the curtains as a cape, until he agreed.

Her dresser was along one wall, his desk was cleared on half, so she could use it.

Underneath his TV were a couple dozen new movies, and tv series. His personal book case was now a them book case, and one of the pillows on his bed had a butterfly case on it.

For some reason, when he flipped the light on and saw all this, it made him smile.

"Your mother is a little... difficult, I can't imagine your father." Bonnie said stretching her arms above her head.

She pulled off her shirt, to reveal a tank top underneath it, and he was glad, because for a second, he expected something else entirely to grace his eyes.

Bonnie grabbed her pajama pants, and walked into the bathroom, closing the door almost all the way, leaving an in open.

Damon grabbed his sweat pants, and t-shirt, and quickly changed while she was.

"He is... worse, by far." he spoke while pulling on his shirt.

Bonnie opened the bathroom door and turned on the sink so she could brush her teeth.

"I'm sorry to hear that." she replied.

Damon bit his lip and walked over, leaning against the door frame beside her.

She handed him his tooth brush and he smiled.

They stood there, brushing their teeth for a few minutes and finally walked back into the bedroom.

"I should probably tell you..." he started, watching as Bonnie pulled her hair out of the pony tail, and it fell around her face.

"Yeah?" Bonnie asked, walking over and sitting on the bed, folding her legs criss cross.

"Our honeymoon to Italy.." Damon started, running a hand through his hair.

"I was supposed to be going to a business meeting there as well. When we skipped out, I missed it." he admitted and she furrowed her brow.

"Well, okay, now I understand a lot more about what your mother said to me..." she frowned.

"Why would you offer to skip out, if you needed to go to a meeting?" Bonnie asked.

"I didn't want our honeymoon to be business, our wedding was enough business as I could take." Damon said slowly, and her face softened.

"I get that... I just wish I would've known." she sighed.

"Would you have insisted I go?" Damon asked.

"I would've said, you probably should, but you're a grown man, you can decide. I just want to know these things." Bonnie turned to face him when he sat down beside her.

He nodded, "I'm sorry, I won't keep something like that to myself again."

She smiled, "Thanks."

After a second, she sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"So, do you want to talk about how ballet went today?" Damon asked.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Honestly, I don't know what to say."

"Well, you don't have to tell me a lot, or everything that happened." he tilted his head to the side.

"Just, what are you feeling?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know.

She swallowed, looking away from him for a second.

"I don't think I'm in love with ballet like I used to be. It's not the same, as it was when I started out, or even a year ago. I like dancing, but I'm tired of it. I'm not passionate about it anymore." Bonnie told him and looked back at him, expecting him to be disappointed in her.

Damon nodded, more than knowing what it was like to be tired of something you used to love.

"Okay, so, think on it, give it time. If you're still not into it, you shouldn't do it." he said slowly.

She sighed, "It would be a disappointment if I quit though, me being a ballet dancer is part of why this marriage was arranged."

"I don't care, if you're a ballet dancer. A great deal of this marriage, was arranged because of your father's money and publicity. My father might not be happy if you quit, but.. I don't care." Damon said, furrowing his brow.

"Being a dancer is your choice, you get to chose if it is or isn't what you want to do."

Bonnie's lips turned up a bit, "Thanks, that means more than you know."

He nodded, and smiled back at her.

"I'm going to go to sleep, I'm full, and tired, so." she chuckled.

"Alright, I'm going to talk to Stefan for a bit." Damon got up off the bed and headed for the door.

"Don't forget about the food." Bonnie reminded him as he turned the light off.

"I won't."

Damon made his way downstairs, and after putting the food away, he walked into the living room, where his brother was lounged on the couch, clicking the remote as he stared at the TV.

"Where were you?" Stefan asked, looking at him.

"Dinner, with Bonnie and her father." he said sitting down beside him.

"How was it?" he asked, and Damon inhaled.

"It was good, her father is a good man." he replied.

Stefan smiled and turned the TV off, not able to find anything interesting.

"What about Bonnie, she a good wife?" Stefan asked, curious.

His brother didn't often actually sit down and talk about anything, but the dinner seemed to loosen him up a bit.

"Why? You spying on me for dad?" Damon teased, and pushed him on the shoulder.

"No, no. You just, you seem... different." he mused.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"You're getting home, at 11pm, not drunk, not with a random blond, smile on your face and you're not covered in glitter." Stefan said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aren't those all reasons I wouldn't be happy?" he asked.

Stefan smirked, "Precisely."

"So, and I repeat myself... How is Bonnie?"

Damon licked his lips.

"She's... good." he started, and Stefan just looked at him, waiting for more.

"She's beautiful, of course, that's obvious. But, it's more than that, I don't know what it is." he admitted.

"Bonnie is... different. It's like she challenges me, but as though she thinks she's better than me. One second, she's this excited fireball that is telling me what to do, the next second, she's getting red faced and shy at the sound of my voice." Damon smirked.

"And you're not used to that." Stefan said slowly.

"No, not at all. With Lucia... I loved her, but... it wasn't the kind of love I wish I still had." he said quietly.

"I don't know what it is, with Bonnie. What's even happening, maybe I do and I'm just, shoving it back due to past experience."

Stefan nodded, "Coming from someone, who knows you best in this family. I don't think you should let the past dictate. Because, from what you're telling me, Bonnie isn't anything like the past."

Damon smiled, nodding and looking to the side a little.

"Something about her, just gets to me."

* * *

Italian Translations:

Beh, perche io parlo Italiano, miele - Well, because I speak Italian, honey.

Si, e correcto - Yes, you're correct.

ll vostro un asino intelligente - You are a smart ass.

Si - Yes

Nero o blu? - Black or blue?

* * *

Please _ **leave a review**_ if you like this chapter! The next chapter is going to have something I know you guys are waiting for and I'm super excited!


	9. First Date Shenanigans

**A/N:** Thanks so much for your support babes! I just wanted to state that, while the last chapters have been mostly around 10,000 words, this chapter and the future chapters won't be quiet as long. I made the previous chapters as long as they are because I wanted to establish a connection, in a short amount of chapter.

But as there are come some more serious things coming up, the chapters won't be as long, because I don't want to blow through the upcoming conflicts; and want to build suspense. They won't be SHORT however, never less than 4-5,000 words, just, probably not 10,000.

 **THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED SINCE POSTING, I TOTALLY BLANKED AND FORGOT AN ENTIRE PARAGRAPH AT THE END.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9 -**_ _First Date Shenanigans  
_

 _Dear me,_  
 _I never thought I'd find myself actually writing in a journal, or, a journal, to be correct. However, the past well, week of my life has been more eventful than I care to think about in large intervals. This only means one thing; I need to get it all down on paper, and than maybe one day I'll actually understand the phrase, "everything happens for a reason". As of right now, I'm huddled in the library of my husband's home, its huge, and there's a small space in one of the corners with a seat, the cushion is a dull red, and the wall is the only support but it'll do..._

 _Yes, you heard that right; my husband. Just a week ago I wasn't married, and I wasn't engaged, I wasn't even dating. But, that's all changed and I'm kind of freaking out, but not that much. I thought it would be more difficult, and trust me, myself, it's difficult. However,it's not.. nearly as daunting._

 _So, per encouragement by Caroline, I'm going to write everything down. From the second I heard about this marriage, to.. well, today, this moment. And then after that, I'll keep writing. Because, I think it could be good for me. Getting some creative juices flowering; already I feel a little different, but in a good way._

 _Hang on to your seat, because this is going to be a little strange..._

 _One week ago, and I do mean an actual week ago, I was minding my own business. But, then I found out per phone call from Kate and my father, that I needed to decide whether or not I wanted to marry a complete stranger. This stranger? Damon Salvatore._

 _At that moment in time, that name meant nothing to me, so I was really just making my choice on pure logic and reason. That sure sounds like me, logic and reason. But, honestly, marrying a stranger is the least logical thing someone could EVER do. The response to that offer was an obvious yes. As the stranger, Damon, is now my husband._

 _The wedding was the next day, but that wasn't the first time I saw him. It turns out, I had a chance encounter with Damon 4 months ago. It was drunken, and a little blurry, but with verification from both of us, it was definitely him._

 _I had wandered over on my 21st birthday, sat down in his booth after a mildly annoyed Damon refused to have a decent conversation with me - I still have no idea what was going on with him that night... Note to self, ask Damon about that - Anyway, we ended up drinking bourbon together, there was a slight hand slip and I may have been unable to handle the amount of alcohol I had consumed._

 _Fast forward 4 months._

 _I walked veil and all down the isle, with Caroline at my side, nervous as all hell. When my veil was lifted up, there he was. Pitch black hair, sea blue eyes - that we're equally as surprised - standing in front of me._

 _I remember thinking -_

* * *

The last 2 and a half days, Bonnie had hardly seen Damon for two seconds; except when she'd roll over in bed and see the back of his dark haired head. She'd stare at it for a few minutes, and then scoot just close enough to smell his shampoo, then fall back to sleep. Of course, she had been busy as well, with ballet, deciding whether ballet was what she wanted to do, and keeping up with all of the gossip that was already surrounding her new life.

But, today was different. It was Sunday, around 1 in the afternoon and Bonnie didn't have class, or anywhere to be. So she was sitting in the library, writing, like Caroline had been bugging her to do.  
She was finding it rather easy, and much better than she'd expected. It was actually nice, getting her story out onto a tangible form.

This wasn't the only reason the day was different; she was finally going to see Damon for more than a few fleeting moments. Ever since the dinner with her dad, Bonnie really wanted to see Damon. More than usual, and more than she thought she would. It had only been a week since they'd gotten married, since they'd started to get to know each other; but hell, she was happy whenever he was in the room.

Damon had this air about him, it made her smile, and that in turn, made him smile.

"There you are." his voice came from one end of the huge library and she shut her journal slowly, hooking the pen along the side.

"Hey." Bonnie said slowly, setting her journal beside her and turning a little in the seat.

"I haven't seen much of you the last few days." Damon chuckled and shoved his hands in his suit pocket, he was still wearing his jacket, tie and everything. His hair was neatly combed, with a few strands out of place.

"I've been here, not all the time but still." she replied standing up from the chair.

"Yeah, I've been overrun with ballets." he sighed and loosened his tie.

Bonnie nodded a little and shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

"You been alright?" she asked him, and he licked at his bottom lip.

"Yeah, nothing new." Damon said, but looked over the ballets, and the meetings already.

Was he seriously going to spend the next good part of his life doing this? He was already so tired of it.

"Though, that's part of the problem." he continued and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.

Bonnie furrowed her brow and stepped over, reaching her arms upwards, wrapping them around his neck and hugging him.

Damon blinked, a little surprised but, wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her back.

"What's this for?" he asked her, and she chuckled.

"You just seem like you need it." she said quietly and it made him close his eyes and inhaled deeply.

Finally she pulled away, but didn't step more than a foot back from him.

"Bonnie?" Damon asked suddenly, feeling like he needed to get what was circling his thoughts out into the air.

"Yeah?" she looked up into his face and tilted her head a little.

"Please tell me you feel something here." he said slowly, blue eyes scanning her face for a reaction.

Bonnie swallowed and brushed her hair behind her ear before looking down a little bit; blushing a little.

"Maybe I do." she replied, looking back up at him.

"Maybe?" Damon chuckled, and tilted his head down a little.

"Yeah, maybe." Bonnie said raising her eyebrows, trying not to smile.

Damon narrowed his eyes, and this made her lips turn upwards a little.

"You're confusing, Bonnie Bennett." he said with a smile.

She smiled back at him, wider, "Says you."

"What do you say, I get out of this suit and we go do something fun?" Damon asked her and she pursed her lips.

"Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Salvatore?" Bonnie asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe I am." he grinned at her.

"Oh, well, if it's only a maybe then I don't know..." she messed with him started to walk away.

Damon laughed and grabbed her wrist pulling her back over to him.

"Bonnie, my wife, will you go on a date with me?"

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "I don't know... I mean, were already married so what's the point?" she asked and he glared at her.

She laughed, and bit her bottom lip.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with you."

Damon smiled and turned around, pulling off his jacket as he started out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Bonnie called across the room, picking her journal up from the seat.

"It's a surprise!" he called back to her before disappearing out of the library.

She took her time walking out of the library with her journal at her side, and wondering if she needed to change. She was wearing a long sleeve suede shirt, jeans, and flat booties; with her hair straightened along the sides of her face.

Bonnie walked down the hallway, up the stairs and tapped on the door; not wanting to walk in while he was putting on pants or something. Or maybe she did.

"Come in." Damon said and she opened the door, to see him standing in front of his closet.

He was wearing jeans, and pulling on a powder blue shirt as she looked at him.

"That's a lovely color." she smirked, and he looked at her.

"Hey, you've never seen a grown man wear powder blue?" Damon rolled his eyes and pulled a red thick jacket sweater from the closet.

He pulled it on and left it unbuttoned, turning around to face her again.

Bonnie put the fingers of both her hands on her mouth and just looked at him.

Damon's face went unamused.

"That's it I'm not wearing the sweater." he started to pulled it off but she ran over.

"No, no!" she laughed.

"I've just never seen you in a sweater before." she smiled.

"You just look really cute, that's all." Bonnie insisted, fixing the sweater.

"Oh, I look, _cute_ great." Damon said in a low tone and looked to the side.

She clicked her tongue, "Cute is a good thing."

He looked back at her a smile a little.

"Alright..." he started, "Grab anything you need and I'll meet you at my car."

Bonnie nodded and watched him walk out of the room.

She wondered where they were going, and then she realized, she was actually going on a date with Damon. They were married, they'd kissed once for the ceremony and they'd been sleeping in the same bed for a week, yet, she was excited.

The last week, she'd been hoping, and wondering, if they'd end up caring about each other, and their marriage might mean something. Sure, it hadn't been long and the spark between them was new, and nothing was for sure; but, Bonnie honestly liked him, and just this was enough to make her excited.

She grabbed her phone, and a jacket before making her way downstairs and out of the front door.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and they were still headed down the road.

"Are you going to give me any hints at all?" Bonnie asked, tapping her feet along the floor of the car. She was curious and kind of excited; obviously they were going someone casual, since neither of them looked as though they were about to go to a fancy restaurant.

Damon exhaled, his lips vibrating, and he looked his head to look at her for just a moment.

"Nope, none." he smirked and he looked back at the road.

"Well, on our second date, I'm surprising you." she replied.

"Oh, our second date? Someone's planning ahead; what next are we going to buy tickets for a concert 5 months from now?" Damon teased and she rolled her eyes.

"No with that attitude we won't." Bonnie looked out the window and he smirked.

Finally the car slowed and they turned into a large parking lot.

She looked out of the window as they parked and her eyes got wide as the car turned off.

She inhaled and undid her seat-belt faster than you can blink, and opened the door.

"Skate and Fun Zone!" Bonnie grinned as she stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her with a bang.

Before her was a huge building of the Richmond Skate and Fun Zone, the name in huge red letters.

"No way!" she laughed and Damon locked the car before he stood beside her.

"You ready to go in?" He asked her and she squealed.

"Oh my god yes!" Bonnie exhaled excitedly and rushed forward through the parking lot.

Damon grinned and follower behind her, actually having to jog a little just to keep up with her.

"Hey, slow down short stuff." he called after her and she pulled the door open like she was a hurricane, the breeze from the door whooshing her hair back.

"You speed up!" Bonnie said back at him and disappeared inside the building.

Once Damon had actually made it inside the buzzing building, walking through the entrance to the skate rink, he looked over and saw the woman standing at the skates window.

"Did you even pay for the night?" he asked her with a chuckle, and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course, for both of us, $15." Bonnie replied, being handed a pair of size 8 skates from the guy behind the counter.

"You didn't have to pay, I could've." Damon said after giving the man his shoe size.

Bonnie held the skates in her arm and smiled.

"Don't be silly, you don't have to pay for _everything_."

He nodded a little and grabbed his skates from the guy and the two of them walked over to a carpeted seat they could sit on.

"You said you never got to do much of anything fun, did that include this place?" Bonnie asked as she tied her laces, setting her boots onto the seat.

Damon was putting his skates on as he spoke.

"I've been here, a few times." he said slowly.

"It's kind of my secret."

Bonnie tilted her head to side, setting her feet down, moved a little forward with the wheels.

"Skating?" she asked.

"No, laser tag." he smirked and she grinned.

"We're definitely going to do that too." Bonnie stood up, putting her arms out to the side to balance herself.

She stumbled backwards a little and landed on her butt right where she'd been sitting.

Damon chuckled, "Maybe you should've gotten quad skates."

"Nonsense." Bonnie said standing up again and using one hand to lean against a nearby beam.

"Do you skate a lot?" he asked her, and she looked to the side a little before looking back at him.

"Never in inline." she admitted and he raised an eyebrow.

"You've never skated in inline skates before, yet, you're trying to now?"

Bonnie smiled innocently and he shook his head.

He stood up much quicker and easier than she had, and stepped along the carpet several feet away from her; then extended a hand.

"I don't need your hand." she insisted so he shrugged and stuck the hand in his pocket.

"Come on then." Damon said waiting for her to step over to him.

Bonnie lifted one of her feet to take a step, and the heavy skate made it more than difficult, but she managed to take one step. However, on her way towards a second step, her skate decided it would be a good idea to propel her forward and downwards.

He reached a hand out and caught her underneath her arm before she hit the floor and pulled her back up.

She inhaled sharply and tried to steady herself again.

"Do you still not need my hand?" Damon asked her and she blushed, taking his hand this time when she offered it to him.

Damon led her out onto the skating rink, that was circling with people, from toddlers holding their parents hands, to teenagers, to young couples, and old couples.

Once they were several feet into the ring but along the side he let go of her hand and she grabbed a hold of the side half hall.

"Well, come on, if you're think your so skilled." he teased and skated elegantly away from her backwards.

Bonnie let go of the wall and slowly moved her legs forward one at a time, like a baby trying to walk.

Damon did a small circle backwards then forwards in his skates and then over to her, she had hardly moved 2 feet.

"Show off." she muttered and her forehead crinkled.

Bonnie attempted to propel herself forward a little more smoothly and within second fell flat on her ass.

Damon bit his cheek and she looked up at him from the floor, blowing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want."

"No.. that was.. great." he snickered and leaned down to pull her up off the floor by her hand.

She gave him a look, and he smiled.

"So skating is your Achilles heel, bowling was mine." Damon said slowly and pulled her over to him, slowly so she wouldn't fall.

"You're still pretty terrible at bowling." Bonnie said flatly.

"Oh, so you don't want help?" he asked and shrugged turning away from her and she laughed.

"No! No come back!" she reached out to grab the back of his shirt and he nearly fell backwards himself.

Damon inhaled sharply and turned around to face her.

"You're going to kill me." he brushed her hand away and shook his head.

"What you should really be worried about is when." Bonnie grinned and blinked when she was suddenly pulled towards him by her waist.

Damon turned her around to face the right way, and started skating slowly, holding her about 1 foot in front of him.

"Ah!" she fumbled and he tightened his hold on her waist.

"Don't move your ankles, or try and lift your feet, focus on gliding your legs." Damon said slowly, and she listened.

"Good." he smiled.

After a few moments and Bonnie was skating fairly well with him still holding her.

"I'm gonna let you go." Damon said and she put her hands onto his.

"No!" she said quickly.

"Yup."

That was all he said before he pushed her forwards a little so she'd keep momentum and let her go.

Bonnie's heart was a beating a little faster and she was gliding forward from his push for several seconds before she actually started to move her legs again.

"See, you got it." he grinned as he moved up to skate beside her.

She tried to keep at a rhythm slightly similar to the song playing on the speakers.

Damon licked his bottom lip and watched as she skated beside him.

By the time they'd gone around 10 times, she was _almost_ better at him than skating, if she knew had to skate backwards.

"Hey, no advancing your teacher." he said with a playful smile.

"Oh no, why Mr. skate master, are you gonna skate me to death?" Bonnie said sarcastically and smiled wide.

"I very well could." Damon said with narrowed eyes and crooked grin.

She rolled her eyes and skated away from him.

"I think it's time for laser tag, what about you?" Bonnie called as she skated through the exit of the rink and back onto the carpeted area.

He made his way over to her and tilted his head to the side.

"I think you're correct."

The two of them made their way back over to their seat and shoes, changing back into their shoes, then taking their skates back to the counter.

"I am going to kick your ass." Bonnie said with a grin and he blinked.

"Such a dirty mouth on you." he teased and stuck her tongue out at him before running ahead of him through the room.

She pushed the double doors to the laser tag area open and disappeared behind them.

Damon shook his head, but walked slowly into the laser tag area with a smile on his face.

Something about this woman just, enabled him to actually have fun for once in his life.

He had never been able to take Lucia skating, bowling, to laser tag, and he'd never seen her run or laugh while having fun. The woman was all business, all sex and all money.

But not Bonnie, she was... well, she was something else entirely and he sure as hell liked that.

When he got to her, standing at the counter she turned and frowned at him.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"They shut down laser tag today, some kid threw up, and then that made two other kids throw up." Bonnie said looking disappointed.

"You'll just have to kick my ass a different way then." Damon said with a chuckle and she pursed her lips.

"Oh!" Bonnie said quickly and grabbed his hand, dragging him from the laser tag section to the arcade and he inhaled deeply, startled and surprised that such a little thing could actually pull him so hard.

"Jesus Christ, woah there muscle." Damon said blinking, trying to shake his head and get his vision back from the blurry mess it was in.

"Me, muscle?" she rolled her eyes and stopped dead center in front of the quarter machine.

Damon pulled out a twenty dollar bill and shoved it in the machine before she could pull any of her money out.

Bonnie was bouncing on her toes a little, excitedly as quarters started pouring out of the machine, clinking against the metal holder.

"Did you notice it's 70's night?" he asked her as he waited for the quarters to finish pouring out.

"I did." she said with a chuckle, listening to the older music from the speakers.

"We're definitely not dressed correctly." Damon said pulling the quarters out and shoving them in his sweater pockets.

"We weren't even born in the 70's; I think we have a pass." Bonnie smirked and pulled a hand full of quarters from his pocket and rushed over to one of the games.

Damon inhaled as he walked over to her. He felt strange, actually having fun without a gallon of bourbon in his system, but it was a good type of strange. The last few days, he'd been craving a drink, more than just a drink, a dozen drinks. He was doing his best, but honestly, the night before he's relapsed on the whole, 'drink in moderation.'

Lucky for him a few Aleve and his hang over wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. His head was starting to hurt a little from all the moving around.

"Okay, we'll play this, 2 out of 3." Bonnie said with a smile, sitting down in the seat of a two person racing game and fixing the seat so her short legs could reach the pedals.

Damon sat down as well and put both his hands on the black steering wheel.

"Two of 3 you sure?" he asked her and she turned her head to look at him.

"Why, are you especially skilled at racing?" she asked him with a smile and wiggled her body a little, getting a feel for the position she was in.

Damon chuckled and pressed the start button the same as her, and they picked the course they wanted to do.

"hey no, I wanted the red car." Bonnie smacked him in the shoulder.

"Too bad." he smiled and waited for her to pick her car and get at the starting line.

They started driving, and at first neither of them were ahead of the few computer played cars but suddenly Bonnie was taking the lead as they finished the first lap.

"Yes!" she laughed as she pushed on the gas even harder but she sped up too quickly and almost veered into a wall.

Damon used this minor miscalucation to get ahead of her, and he slowly sped up, until he was doing about 200mph and his car was on it's third lap, Bonnie just finishing her second.

"Slow down Tokyo Drift!" she yelled at him, and tried to catch up.

"Never!" he laughed and as he crossed the finish line, Bonnie groaned as she finished just seconds after him.

"That's one." he grinned over at her.

Ten minutes later and Bonnie had won the 3rd race, but Damon had won the 1st and 2nd.

"Fine, you win!" Bonnie said getting up out of the seat and vibrating her lips.

"We're sharing those 30 tickets though." she glared at him.

"Of course!" Damon put one hand up as if to oath and held onto the orange ticket in his other hand.

Bonnie looked around until she saw a game where you try and drop the ball into a certain circle.

"Oh, I love this one." she said with a smile.

"That one? It's boring." he insisted and she shook her head.

"Yeah,well, I'm really good at it."

Bonnie walked over and put a dollar worth of quarters into the machine and started playing.

Damon stepped over to watch but quicker than he could process, she had won.  
 _  
"CONGRATULATIONS, 100 TICKETS."_ the machine said with an excited music playing.

"What in the hell, how did you..." he blinked and watched as tickets started pouring out of the machine.

Bonnie smiled, "I told you!"

"You try." she insisted and he put a dollar of quarters in and stared at the damned thing.

Damon put his hands on the buttons and watched as it started up.

"How do I even..." he said aloud and she giggled.

1 minute later and he was losing harder than Tiger Woods.

"CONGRATULATIONS, 5 TICKETS." the machine said loudly.

"Yeah, yeah." Damon rolled his eyes and snatched the tickets from the machine.

Bonnie was snickering.

"Hey, you, stop laughing at me." he shoving her playfully.

"I'm laughing with." she insisted.

"I'm not laughing." Damon said slowly.

"I meant I'm laughing with the machine." Bonnie said and then burst out into a fit of laughter.

Damon rolled his eyes, "haha, funny."

30 minutes later and their pockets were empty of quarters, but their hands were full of 600 orange tickets, over spilling and wrapped around their arms.

"Okay, we need to go spend these things before we get ticket jacked by a preteen." he smirked and she nodded.

"We have more tickets than anything even costs!" Bonnie said excitedly as they walked over to the prizes section.

The eyes of the people behind the counter went wide as they set their pile of tickets down.

"Wow, you guys really went all out." the woman laughed.

Bonnie smiled and looked around, trying to figure out what she wanted.

"What do you want?" she asked Damon and she shrugged.

"I'll take, 5 glow stick necklaces, two candy rings, two of those boas..." Bonnie said to the lady who quickly counted off some of the tickets and handed Bonnie all her stuff.

"Hey look, there's a hat that looks like your stupid one you lost." she said with a chuckle, and Damon rolled his eyes.

"I did get that hat from here." he told her and she pursed her lips.

"What do you want?" the lady asked him.

"Gimme that huge panda." Damon slowly and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"Here." he handed it to her and nearly knocked her over.

"This is for me?" she asked and he smirked.

"No, joint custody." he teased and she laughed.

"You were supposed to get something for you!" Bonnie laughed and he took the panda from her arms when she was having a hard time carrying it.

"You still have a hundred tickets left." the woman said and Bonnie grabbed them, shoving them in her jeans pocket.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, meet you at the pizza place?" she asked Damon who nodded and walked away with the giant panda.

Bonnie rushed to the bathroom, after she was done washing her hands she walked out and made sure Damon wasn't still hanging around.

"Hi." she said when she got back to the counter.

"You again." the woman smiled.

"I'd like, one of those hands." Bonnie pointed at the hat, and the woman took her last 100 tickets.

"Surprise for your boyfriend?" the woman asked.

She smiled and held up her ring hand, "Husband."

"Oh! How long?"

"A week." Bonnie chuckled, taking the hat from her.

"Oh, congrats."

"Thanks." she nodded at her and headed for the dining area, holding the hand with the hat behind her.

"There you are." Damon smiled, he had the panda sitting on the table and a pizza box near him with two paper plates and bottles of water.

"What kinda pizza you get?" she asked, and he opened the box.

"Just cheese, you told me you prefer that." he reminded her and she smiled, wondering if he remembered everything she had ever said. Seemed he remembered more often than her.

"Got you something." Bonnie said and he raised an eyebrow.

She moved her hand in front of her and handed him the hat.

Damon blinked, "The hat..." he chuckled.

"You hate this thing." he waved it a little.

"Yeah, but, you like it and you lost it at the hotel." Bonnie blushed and sat down beside him.

"Well, thank you." he smiled and set it on the table beside them.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" she inquired, as she ate her second slice of pizza.

"Hmm?" Damon asked, setting his crust onto his plate and wiped his hands on a napkin.

"Were you drunk when you got home last night?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head to the side.

He blinked, "I uh..." he started.

Bonnie had been able to smell it on him, and when he'd gotten home he wasn't exactly walking too great, she'd been wondering all day if he'd driven himself home like that.

"Yeah, I was." Damon replied honestly, looking unhappy.

She pursed her lips, "You didn't drive home did you?" she asked.

"No, no. Enzo drove me home in my car, and then called an uber to take him back to get his car." he explained and she exhaled.

"Okay, good... I can't say I'm happy that you got so drunk, but at least you didn't drive home." Bonnie said slowly.

"I don't want to get that drunk, at least not so often." he sighed.

"I tried, and then one drink turned into way too may." Damon frowned and looked at the table a little.

"I'm not upset with you." Bonnie insisted.

"I have a problem though, I know." he ran a hand through his hair.

She scooted closer to him, "I don't judge you for that." she assured him.

"But, you don't have to go through this alone." Bonnie set a hand on his shoulder.

"Really? Fixing an alcoholic husband is part of your bucket list?" Damon asked, feeling like an idiot.

She shook her head, "Damon, with the way your parents treat you, I don't blame you for falling into a bad habit."

"But, I'm here, telling you, that if you feel like you're going to fall off the wagon, find me, call me, drag me into the room, I don't care. I will make sure you don't cross the line." Bonnie looked up into his face.

Damon just looked back at her and then grabbed their things, including the panda and shoving into a cubby space on one of the walls.

He walked back over to hear.

"You wanna dance?" he asked her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Here?" Bonnie asked.

"No, somewhere else, our things will be safe here." Damon smiled and she nodded taking his hands and letting him lead her out of the dining area.

They walked over until they reached one of the dimmer area's of the carpeted skate area, that not many people were passing through.

 _'All our times have come, here but now they're gone'_

"Oh, I like this song." Bonnie smiled as The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult came on.

"Really? Are you a oldies type of woman?" Damon asked as he turned her around and pulled her up against his his, his hands on her waist.

"I do like classic rock." she replied and they started to sway.

 _'Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain.'_

Bonnie wrapped her arms around her neck, looking up at him and smiled before reading her face against his chest.

Damon held her tighter and swayed slowly, watching as she closed her eyes.

"You know, I think you don't give yourself enough credit." she whispered.

 _'Come on baby, don't fear the reaper.'  
_  
He stayed quiet and ran his fingers along some of her hair that was hanging down her back.

"You're so much stronger than you seem to realize. After all the bull your parents give you, after marrying someone you didn't even know, you're still smiling." Bonnie continued.

Damon licked his bottom lip.

"You're so much more than you give yourself credit for too, you know." he said slowly as they danced.

"Really?" she asked.

 _'Baby take my hand, don't fear the reaper.'_

"You're kind, smart, witty, beautiful, more than just outwardly." Damon said running his hand along her back.

"You're different than any other woman I've met, I feel like I can just be, when I'm around you." he said softly, where she hardly even heard him.

 _'we'll be able to fly, don't fear the reaper.'_

Bonnie blushed, her heart was tightening, in a glow and she looked up at him, into his bright blue eyes.

"That's because I don't care if you're rich, or a Salvatore. You're powerful, smart, caring, you have this air about you, like you could get away with whatever you want; but you don't use that to hurt people." she whispered.

Damon moved his hand up to her face and just looked at her.

It was sudden, and Bonnie didn't even have time to closer her eyes when his lips suddenly were pressed against hers.

Bonnie's lips were warm against his, and his were warm against hers, like two melting chocolates, just moving against each other, but Damon pulled away after a moment.

"Was what alright?" he asked her, realizing he hadn't asked for her permission.

Something about Bonnie, actually made him care, he wanted her consent, he wanted her to want him to kiss her.

"Very." Bonnie said, her eyes sparkling, face kind of zoned out.

"May I kiss you again, Bonnie?" Damon asked her this time, and she stood on her tip toes, moving her face an inch from his.

"Please do." she said, her breath against his face.

Damon smiled small, and leaned downwards just a little, and pressed their lips together again.

 _'La la la la la, la la la la la.'  
_  
He pulled her tighter against him, and pressed his lips against hers gently but moved them passionately. Bonnie kissed him back, her heart fluttering in her chest and she felt her right foot slowly bend backwards up into the air.

Bonnie's cheeks were growing warmer with her happiness, and she couldn't help but burst into a giggle against his lips. Damon's own lips turned up into a grin at the vibration her lips made against his.

"Sei cosi carino." Damon said with a chuckle and held her close to him.

"Asino." Bonnie said with a snicker and he snorted.

"Why did you just call me an ass?" he asked her.

"Because its all I can remember besides 'si'" she started laughing and he shook his head.

"And because you're an asino." she started laughing too hard to stay on her tiptoes.

Damon glared playfully at her.

"You're an asino." he said and started to laugh.

"You're a si asino." Bonnie inhaled deeply.

"I'm a yes ass?" Damon asked her, and she held onto her stomach as she laughed, stumbling a foot back from him.

"That's you're new nickname, si asino." she teased, closing her eyes tightly.

"The hell is it." he said laughing and rushed over to grab her by the waist and picked her up.

"Ah!" Bonnie screamed.

"I just called you, carino, which is cute and you called me an ass." Damon said and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Okay, okay..." she said inhaling and stopping laughing and looked at him with a serious face as he held her in his arms.

"Damon..." Bonnie started, biting at the inside of her cheek, and he knew full well what was coming so he just gave her an equally as serious face.

"You are..."

"Mhm?" Damon asked, although a laugh was already bubbling in his chest.

"a carino asino." Bonnie said quickly and burst into laughter again.

Damon started laughing again too, "I knew you were gonna say that!" he closed his eyes, body shaking.

Bonnie tried to speak but was laughing to hard.

Shoving her face into his shoulder she continued to laugh, and Damon shoved his face into her hair, smiling wide.

Once she was finally able to breath, she inhaled deeply and looked at him, tilting her head to the side, just peering at his smile face. 

Bonnie didn't know what exactly that kiss was, it was almost so soft that it was oozing from her memories quickly. The words that lingered on her lip were  
mirroring the butterflies in her stomach. That look in his eyes, his sea blue eyes, she hoped it was genuine because, she could tell he wasn't the kind of guy a woman gets a simple crush on.

He's the kind of guy you fall hard for, and the thought of that terrified her. She never really wanted to fall hard, not for anyone. But, with Damon, he made her curious. So very curious.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 _Sei cosi carino_ \- You are so cute.

 _Asino_ \- ass

 _Carino asino_ \- Cute ass

* * *

Please ** _leave a review_**! It means a lot to me!


	10. You Don't Have to Try So Hard

**A/N:** Wasn't gonna post this till new years, but I couldn't wait.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10 -** You Don't Have to Try So Hard_

When Bonnie and Damon finally came through the front door that evening, they were exhausted, full of pizza, and carrying armfuls of prizes.

"No! I definitely won, and besides it wasn't technically a competition." Bonnie said with a laugh and Damon closed to door behind himself.

"Mrs. Salvatore." the butler, Mr. Wayne said as he stepped over to them.

"May I take your jacket?" he asked Bonnie and she blinked.

"Oh, yes, and please call me Bonnie." she insisted, and wiggled out of Damon's sweater jacket he'd given her on the ride home.

Mr. Wayne turned his head to look at Damon, and quickly made a slightly amused face.

"Mr. Salvatore, may I take your ah.. boa?" he asked, referring to the fluffy feathery boa draped around the mans neck.

Damon smirked, "No, I think I shall keep it." he said with a chuckle.

"I'll take the things upstairs." Bonnie started, piling the junk in Damon's arms on top of her bundle.

"Will you make us some cocoa?" she asked, and he nodded, watching her slip off her shoes and head up the stairs.

Damon licked his lower lip, thinking about their kiss. It was short, sweet, different than any other kiss he'd experienced. It wasn't forced. Nor was it emotionless, or derived from some greedy plan. Ironic, because their marriage was planned for less than humble reasons.

When he turned his head to look at the butler who was still there, and hadn't hung Bonnie's coat up yet he blinked.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Don't sully this one over on yourself." Mr. Wayne said with small chuckle.

"What does that mean?" Damon asked, his forehead creasing.

"She makes you smile. However, the heart requires a happy home to grow." he replied and started to turn.

"This is not a happy home."

The butler disappeared into another room and Damon's eyes scanned back over to the stairs, seeing she had made her way up them.

He took his own shoes off, headed for the kitchen and grabbed too mugs from the cabinet.

Pouring milk in each, he heated them in the microwave before pouring the chocolate in, stirring and grabbing the handles.

Damon took his time heading up the stairs, since a scalding hot cocoa bath wasn't on his to do list.

Once he got to the door, which was closed, he realized he had no way to knock so he kicked at the door with his toes a few times.

"Damnit." he mumbled, that wasn't a great idea.

It worked however. Bonnie opened the door, glad in tweety bird pajama pants and a gray tank top, her hair pulled into a pony tail, face cleaned of any previous makeup.

"Six more arms and I'd be a squid." Damon teased and it invoked a smile from her as he stepped into the bedroom.

The light was on, sun set outside, leaving only a dark purple glow in the sky.

"Which one's mine?" she asked, closing the door behind him.

Damon handed her a light blue mug, and she held it by the handle, watching the steam along the top.

"Thank you." Bonnie smiled, thankful for the hot cocoa, it was cold outside, although it had stopped snowing.

"My pleasure." he grinned back at her and watched as she turned around, set the mug on the nightstand and then sat down on the bed.

Damon set his mug down as well and then walked over to grab his pajamas.

"Do you mind?" he asked as he grabbed his clothing and Bonnie's eyes flickered over to him.

"No, no it's fine." Bonnie replied, and grabbed her hot cocoa, shifting her eyes to the blank TV.

But, after several seconds she couldn't help looking back over as he pulled a different shirt on, clad in black silk pajama pants.

"Like what you see?" Damon said with a smirk as he caught her, watching her face flush.

"You're cheeky." Bonnie replied, looking away and sipping on her cocoa .

He moved to sit down beside her after grabbing his cocoa.

"I had fun today." Bonnie said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I did too." he said slowly, looking over at her.

She smiled and set her mug down, taking a breath.

"Can I ask you something?" Damon asked, and Bonnie had to refrain from saying, 'you just asked me something'. Instead she nodded.

"Will you tell me what happened with your mom?" he inquired, and she blinked.

"Haven't you read Wikipedia, or watched the news?" she said trying to block out unwanted emotions by chuckling.

Damon tapped on the rim of his mug.

"I'd prefer to hear about it from you." he started, "However, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Bonnie pursed her lips. In all honesty, she didn't know much about why her mother left.

"There isn't that much to tell." she said slowly.

"My parents hadn't been doing too well for a few months, at the time I had no idea, since, they hid it very well. Then, one day she didn't pick me up from school, so my Grams came to get me." Bonnie explained, and Damon listened, eyes on her face.

"When we got back to my house, half of the clothing in her closet was gone, other little things."

"But, she didn't ever tell your father she was leaving, or why?" Damon asked her and she shook her head.

"No, she left a note, but all it said was, I need a new life, I love you Bonnie." she replied and Damon shook his head, almost disgusted.

"That''s messed up, she just left her husband and child. Husband I can understand, no offense, I don't know what was going on with them, but child?" Damon sighed.

Bonnie's chest was hurting.

"Yeah." she swallowed.

"They had a joint bank account, and my father expected she would have with drawled money, but I guess she thought leaving was enough, why take the money too you know?"

Damon nodded, "So, perhaps she has some what of a heart."

"I suppose." Bonnie inhaled.

"Do you know where she is at all?" he asked, and she licked at her lips, ignoring the heaviness of her shoulders.

"Not exactly, I mean, there's been photo's of her taken all over the place. She couldn't escape the media entirely, but in the media's eyes she's "disappeared.". That only means she's not doing ballet or living somewhere where everyone would know her. Her names probably changed, some speculation that it's Kelly. But, I try not to buy into the rumors." she shook her head.

"What was she like?" Damon asked her, wanting to get off the topic of her leaving, as it was making Bonnie look sad.

"She was...light, really bright all the time. She always talked to me softly, read to me softly. Everything about her was soft, warm and kind. She wanted me to be whatever I wanted to be, and of course I wanted to be in ballet, because she was a ballerina. But she hated the media, even the good. Whenever I was caught watching the news, she'd change the channel, she didn't want me to think being famous was something that had to fit into your passion." Bonnie said her eyes zoning out a little.

"Yet, you seem to be a little different." he mused, and she blinked, focusing her eyes back on him.

"How so?" she asked, curious.

"You married me because you knew it would up your stance." Damon reminded her.

"I do know that, but it doesn't mean it's all I care about." Bonnie insisted.

"But, you do care about where you are in the eyes of the media, or you would have declined the offer."

Bonnie wasn't sure what to say to this, so she bit her bottom lip and looked down for a second.

"This is true. I suppose the girl my mother raised would have declined the offer." she said, eyes a little sad.

Damon reached over, setting his empty mug down.

"But, you are not the girl your mother raised." he said slowly, reaching over to take her hand that was on her lap;

"You're the woman your father raised, and your mother abandoned."

Bonnie looked up at him, and ran her finger tips long his hand that was grasping hers.

"But, a woman you are." Damon's eyes were almost brighter, and his words soft.

She scooted closer, closer, until she was sitting right in his lap, head on his shoulder.

"A beautiful one." he whispered, wrapped his arms around her.

These words, for the first time were said in a completely innocent way. He didn't want anything from her, he wasn't expecting anything for his words. Unlike previous relationships, where he'd said things with a lust of a purpose, knowing well the words meant nothing but a easy path into someones pants.

These words, they meant something, and he wanted nothing in return for them.

"You're complicated, Damon." Bonnie replied, her face a little red.

"Do tell." he looked down at her.

"One second you're, silly, then kinda of intense, then all the sudden, unimaginably sweet." she said slowly, looking up through her thick eyelashes.

"That's not complicated." Damon smirked.

"That's called a personality." he added.

Bonnie smiled, "Well, your personality is by far the biggest of both of us." she teased him.

"Oh please, if anyone's personality is the biggest, it's yours." he insisted and her smiled turned intoa grin.

"Tell me, what's this big personality I have?" Bonnie asked, snuggling herself deeper in his lap.

"Well." Damon started pursing his lips.

"You are kind, even when you hardly know the person. You are fiery, very defensive,espeically when someone's doing something wrong." he went on, "You're silly, you go from silent, still, to so excited about the smallest things."

He smiled at her, and watched the green of her irises glimmer at him.

"You're caring, hold a lot of baggage, you're worrisome, very worried about what other people will think sometimes." his tone grew a little lower, and Bonnie's forehead crinkled.

"But, you're strong." Damon continued, and moved one of his hands over to touch her cheek.

"I like that about you."

Bonnie's lips turned up at the edges.

"You'll talk about me forever, but, when it comes to you, I can't get much out of you." she noted, tilting her head to the side.

"My family sucks, and they love to boss me around. What more is there?" Damon asked with a sigh.

"There's a lot more, I know there is, you should know that." Bonnie reminded him.

"I do know that." he replied.

"Are you ever going to actually talk about it?" she asked, and he looked to the side then back at her.

"Eventually."

Bonnie pursed her lips.

"You are the man your parents let down." she started, copying his sediment.

"But, a man you are."

Damon's lips turned up a little.

"Who by some twist of fate is married to you." he replied.

Bonnie used her arm that was wrapped over his shoulder to pull herself upwards and press her lips against his.

Damon pulled her tighter against him, kissing her back softly, their lips moving together slowly, and this time, they didn't pulled back from each other.

She wrapped both of her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper. He slowly ran his fingers along her back, before sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and biting it gently. A soft sound came from Bonnie's throat and she tightened her arms around him.

Damon let go of her bottom lip and grinned against her mouth before he ran the tip of his tongue against her lips. Bonnie exhaled, capturing his lips again and kissing him with a bit more vigor. She grabbed the neck of his shirt and leaned backwards. Damon inhaled when he was suddenly on top of Bonnie as she lay on her back.

He kissed her lips, before kissing her cheek, making his way down her jawline. Bonnie shivered when his lips got to her neck. God, it had been so long since someone actually kissed her like they knew what they were doing, much less make her _shiver_.

Damon was getting a little ahead of himself, then again, who wouldn't? Bonnie was a glorious brown skinned, fire of a woman, even if she couldn't see it, he certainly wasn't blind.

He kissed her neck again, before running the tip of his tongue along the hollow where her shoulder began. As he made his way to the fleshiest part of her shoulder, he kissed the spot once.

Bonnie inhaled, when he bit her shoulder, it only lasted a few seconds, and then he did it again. Bonnie leaned her head back, and a soft moan bubbled from her lips.

"Y-you're a biter." she whispered, trying to catch her breath.

"Do you not like it?" Damon asked huskily, voice slightly muffled.

"I didn't think I did."

Damon grinned, kissing along her shoulder again up towards her neck.

This time when Damon bit gently into the soft flesh of her neck, her eyelids fluttered. Bonnie was having a hard time deciding what to do with her own hands, he was a little overpowering, dizzying.

He sucked on her neck a bit, some of her skin in between his lips and then bit down. Bonnie's thighs suddenly flooded with warmth.

"Ah.. a.. shit." she breathed, his body was heavy against hers.

Damon inhaled, clearing his head a little, and exhaled against her neck.

"Are we getting a little too heated?" he asked, and Bonnie swallowed.

"M-maybe a little." Bonnie replied.

Damon slowly moved off from top of her and rolled onto his back, although his excitement was showing a slightly...stiff way.

Bonnie tightened her thighs against each other, ignoring the warmth spreading along her abdomen and ran her hand along her face.

"I mean, it's not that I don't want to..." she started, "I just feel like..." she exhaled, having a hard time figuring out what to say.

Damon turned his head to look at her.

"You don't have to give a reason, I don't expect anything from you, Bonnie." he told her, and she met his gaze.

"Really? You don't think it's lame for a grown woman to not jump into sex?" she asked, and he furrowed his brow.

"Honestly, I've never had a healthy relationship, I'd much rather take things slow, despite our circumstances than jump into anything. I definitely don't think it's lame." Damon assured her, although, in the past, he might have felt disappointed. But, that was with woman who used him, used others, lied, didn't care about anything that came from his mouth.

Bonnie was.. something different.

She smiled at him a little.

"I don't want to either, if I'm being truthful." he said slowly.

"Not right now anyway. My.. body might disagree with me, but, it'll get over it." he added and both their faces flushed a little.

Bonnie tried to avoid looking at the obvious bulge in his pants.

"Yeah..." she said slowly, biting at her bottom lip.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." she said getting up from the bed and pulling her hair out of the pony tail.

Damon chuckled, "You should do that."

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek and walked over to the basket of clean towels on the table near the bathroom door.

"Feel free to think of me." he teased with a smirk, and she gasped, her face flushing pink.

"Damon!" she picked up a towel and threw it at his face.

As it landed in his hands he asked, "Is this an invitation?"

Bonnie's face flushed more, if that was even possible and her heart was beating hard in her chest.

"Oh my god, stop!" she laughed, and hurried into the bathroom, closing the door before leaning her back up against it.

Bonnie closed her eyes, and tried to calm her heavy breathing.

* * *

About five days had gone by. It was a stressful five days, to say the least. Bonnie had paparazzi following her around everywhere, she'd hardly gotten to see Damon, and she was struggling to impress Lily once she got back to Mystic Falls the day before. Bonnie still hadn't gotten much time with Giuseppe, but from what she could gather, he wasn't the talking kind of person. Unless of course it had to do with business.

As Bonnie sat in the car with Caroline, driving to the Salvatore's... her.. house, she was still freaking out that Bonnie and Damon kissed, then made out. Despite the fact that they had kissed several more times, throughout the 5 days. But, since Damon was hardly home, and Bonnie had spent a night with Caroline to gush about the experience of kissing him, they hadn't had another really steamy moment since their first.

Which was a little disappointing, but, honestly, Bonnie had a lot of other things on her mind as well.

"Honestly, Caroline I don't want to be a dancer anymore. I just don't." Bonnie sighed, and looked over at her best friends sad face.

"Really? Have you even thought about it long enough?" Caroline asked, brushing her blond hair behind her shoulder.

"Yes, I've been thinking about it for over a week now." she replied, pulling her hair from the pony tail it was in.

Caroline frowned, "I mean, I guess I get it. When you're just not passionate anymore, you're just not."

Bonnie pursed her lips, as she ran a hand through her hair, shaking it out.

"I mean, I want dance to be a part of my life still, I'm just not sure how." she admitted and the blond nodded.

"Well, I support whatever you decide, as long as you don't abandon me." Caroline teased, making a mock pouting face.

Bonnie chuckled, "Of course not..."

"Actually, I forgot, they're having a party for Damon's 25th birthday night." she started, "Aka, Lily and Giuseppe want to show off our marriage."

"Oh jeez." Caroline smiled.

"Can you come?" Bonnie asked as they pulled up in front of the house.

"Sadly, no, tonight is Matt and I'd Skype date" she replied, furrowing her brow.

"Oh, well, that's alright, we can hangout tomorrow."

Caroline nodded, "Definitely..."

Bonnie grabbed her bag, and opened the door of the car, undoing her seatbelt and getting out.

"Have fun..." she called before Bonnie closed the door.

Bonnie watched Caroline drive away, and then made her way through the slushy wet mess of the ground, the snow had surprised everyone. What wasn't melted, and gross, was about 2 feet of snow, with more flurrying down.

As she walked into the front door, the staff was in full force. Rushing around, setting up the larger ballroom with tables, decorations, putting new rugs into the foyer, replacing all the candles in the holders, replacing light bulbs. Bonnie could even smell the plethora of food cooking in the kitchen.

"Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, excuse me." one of the staff said as they carried a huge box past her.

"Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, which seat would you like at the main table? And would you prefer soup or salad for your main course?" another asked.

Bonnie blinked, "Umm."

"Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, you may want to steer clear of the foyer."

"Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, Mr. Damon Salvatore told me to let you know he will be home in a few hours."

"Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, if you're looking for Mr. Stefan Salvatore, he's in the library."

She inhaled, her head going a little dizzy.

"The seat next to Damon wherever he usually sits, soup, I'll steer clear, thank you for letting me know, and thank you for telling me where Stefan is." she replied to each of them quickly and hurried out of the room. Once she was in the hallway, she headed for the library, opened the doors and walked in, closing them behind her.

The library was empty, all but Stefan sitting with a book on the loveseat.

Bonnie put a hand on her head.

"They attack you?" Stefan teased looking up from his book.

"You could say that." she exhaled.

"It's always crazy before a party." he explained and she nodded slowly, walking over to sit in one of the chairs next to the loveseat.

Bonnie was frustrated, she was having a hard time bonding with Lily. Lily would hardly look at her anymore, although she always seemed lost in her own world. Maybe it was because the woman's husband was always gone, and.. from gossip, a complete ass.

All she wanted was a somewhat healthy relationship with her mother in law. Did that have to be such a difficult feat?

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan asked her, and this was a little strange for Bonnie.

Her and Stefan had only talked maybe once, other than a few, 'heys', 'good mornings', 'good evenings.'  
The one time they had talked for more then 1 sentence was when she was making breakfast, and Stefan told her almost no one but staff had cooked in that kitchen until Bonnie had gotten there. And she put peaches on his pancakes because he said he liked them that way.

"Eh, it's nothing really." she lied, scratching at her head.

"Really?" he chuckled, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Bonnie was noticing Damon and Stefan definitely had similar mannerisms. Both kind, caring, and funny. Both had a good smile, crossed their arms a lot, or shoved their hands in their pockets. However, Stefan was less intense, and had a more, sensitive vibe. Which Damon had a sensitive vibe as well, but Stefan seemed to be more open about it.

It was kind of fun comparing brothers. Actually, she had been thinking if Caroline wasn't with Matt, she'd probably really like Stefan. Matt was a good two shoes, Stefan was too, but had more of a charming patter. Plus he's rich, so there's that.

"I just wish I could bond with your mother." Bonnie sighed.

Stefan laughed, "You, me and half the world." he shook his head.

She glared at him a little, "Well, thanks."

"No, but... look, my family is complicated, as you probably know, you're married to Damon." he started.

"In order of least complicated to most, it's, Me, Lily, Damon, Giuseppe. And, Damon and our father our in a close tie." he joked.

"So, Lily is one of the less complicated ones?" Bonnie asked, curious.

Stefan nodded, "Actually, yeah. She's more attitude, and entitlement than complicated. I mean, she's my mother, I love her, but so many years with our father had made her kind of bitter."

She nodded, "I get that..." she exhaled, lips vibrating.

"Once you two battle it out once or twice, you'll eventually open up to each other, and she'll stop being so crazy." he assured her.

"Really? You think so?" Bonnie asked, crossing her legs.

"Yeah. She's just stuck in her head. You gotta give her time." Stefan chuckled.

"I think she doesn't like me because I don't let her talk to me like she talks to you and Damon." she addmitted.

He nodded, "That's probably true... But, I think that one day, that will be something she likes about you."

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Maybe... I just want tonight to go well."

"You'll fit in, don't worry." Stefan smiled.

* * *

Later that night, Bonnie was getting ready for the party. She could hear conversation and music downstairs, and glasses clinking. She stood, in bra and panties in front of the mirror, holding up the dress Lily had given her to wear.

Honestly, it was... not something she really liked. At least, not something she wanted to wear to this party. But, Lily had smiled, and acted like it was important her.

"I'd really like you to wear this dress."

Is what Lily had said.

"Your hair would you beautiful up."

she had suggested.

So, there Bonnie was with her curly hair pulled up, and pulling a short length, kind of tight fitting blue dress.

Exhaling, she reached behind her, trying to zip it, but was failing.

The door opened, and she blinked, turning around and seeing it was Damon.

"Oh, it's you." she mumbled.

"Sorry, I should have knocked. " Damon replied, looking a little spent from his day, but his eyes lit up when he saw her.

"It's alright..." Bonnie waved him off and watched as he closed the door.

"Did my mother give you that dress." he asked her curiously, and she blinked.

"Yes... Do you not like it?" she asked, worried.

"I think you look beautiful." Damon said quickly with a chuckle.

Bonnie gave him a look, and he gave her a look right back.

Eventually, she broke and giggled.

"Will you zip me?" she asked, and turned around when he nodded.

Damon slowly zipped her up, eying her back for a moment, and smiled.

He reached over, grabbed the necklace she had clearly picked out from the dressed and reached in front of her to put it on her.

"Thank you." Bonnie smiled, her face flushing with heat as his finger tips brushed against the back of her neck while he hooked the necklace.

"You're welcome." he said slowly.

She was quiet for a moment, although he stayed behind her.

"Are you usually so busy?" she asked.

"Yes, during this time of year." Damon replied.

He leaned down a bit, and gently pressed his lips against the side of her hair, near her ear.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, and she inhaled.

"Just, worried about fitting in with your family." Bonnie said honestly, and he wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his hands along her stomach.

Bonnie closed her eyes, and felt his face against the side of her head, breath against her ear. This calmed her.

"You fit in perfectly." he assured her.

"Mr and Mrs. Salvatore, your wanted downstairs." one of the staff told them from a crack in the door they had opened.

"Thank you, Cassandra." Damon said and the door clicked back closed.

Bonnie sighed, "The party did start thirty minutes ago, we may was well go down."

He nodded and pulled his arms from around her.

She turned around and he took her hand.

They headed out of the room, and for the stairs.

The second they started walking down the stairs together, cameras flashed and Lily was standing at the bottom of the stairs smiling.

"The birthday boy, and his lovely wife!" Lily motioned and everyone clapped, more flashes nearly blinded Bonnie.

She was damn near tired of her photo always being taken, but Damon didn't seem to mind.

Once they got down the stairs, and headed for the main ballroom, where even more people were, they got a little lost, mingling and Bonnie couldn't figure out where Damon was.

"Bonnie, nice to see you." someone she didn't even know said to her, but she smiled politely.

"You too!"

She turned around and almost ran straight into Stefan.

"Watch it." he joked and she smiled.

"Just a 'few' more hours of this." Bonnie inhaled and he nodded, before taking a champagne off a tray and handing it to her.

It was already dark out, around 8pm, which wasn't an uncommon time for a party. Rich people love to stay out late, hail ubers and limo's in the late night moonlight while they can't remember their own names.

Bonnie downed half the drink and watched as Stefan wandered away.

Somehow, she made her way over to Lily and Giuseppe who were talking to, more people Bonnie didn't recognize.

"Bonnie." Lily said slowly, sipping out of her glass.

"Hi." Bonnie said with a chuckle.

Giuseppe just nodded at her.

"I was just telling..." Lily started but Giuseppe gave her a look, and she stopped talking.

"I was just telling the Kellens, about how my son seems to enjoy you." Giuseppe said her sentence for her, and Bonnie thought this was weird.

"Oh, well..." her face flushed a bit, "He's a great man." Bonnie said and he nodded.

Giuseppe started talking to the couple again and Bonnie looked over at Lily.

"You look nice." Bonnie complimented her and she nodded slowly.

"Thank you, you look nice as well. Although, I'm not sure about the hair." Lily criticized.

"Lily." Giuseppe said rather bluntly, and looked over at her.

Lily looked at him as though to apologize for speaking.

 _Did Lily really just criticize my hair? She's the one who told me to put it up..._

Bonnie thought to herself, frustrated.

But, more importantly, Giuseppe was acting as though Lily and Bonnie weren't supposed to speak unless spoken too, and gave Lily a small look whenever she tried to say something.

Bonnie felt uncomfortable so she stepped away and continued looking for Damon.

"There you are." his voice came from behind her, and she turned to look at him.

He looked so handsome, in his black suit, black tie, hair a little messy, clean shaven.

"Would you care to dance?" Damon asked her as a slow violin song played.

Bonnie smiled, and placed her hand in his extended one and they stepped over a little bit.

Damon pulled Bonnie towards him, and put an arm around her waist, holding her hand up with the other.

Bonnie placed her hand on his shoulder and they danced slowly.

"Your father is interesting." she said casually.

"What has he done now?" Damon asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, nothing, he's just..." she couldn't find a suitable world.

"Terrible." he said tilting his head to the side.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "No, no, ...no..." she said, the last no a little unsure of it's self.

Damon smirked, "I know he's terrible, no need to hide it from me." he assured her and she shook her head a little.

"Your family..." she said slowly, with a sigh.

His blue eyes, scanned her face.

"Our family..."

Bonnie looked back at him, "Really? Is it really our family? Because it doesn't feel like I'm a part of their family, much less our family."

Damon frowned a bit, "I'm sorry you feel that way."

Lily stepped over a few moments later, and Bonnie tried not to sigh.

"Damon, why don't you dance with Lidia Masters, the family hasn't seen her in forever." she suggested, and Damon nodded, although his eyes showed annoyance.

Bonnie watched him walk away, and through the crowd.

"Bonnie." Enzo's thick accent came from beside her and she blinked.

She was actually more happy to see Enzo than anyone else there. He was Damon's best friend after all. Although, she knew little to nothing about him, and wasn't even sure how Damon and him knew each other.

He was the most charming man next to Damon, and by far 100% better than Lily and Giuseppe when it came to just saying Hello too.

And she hadn't even seen him since the damn wedding.

"It's been a bit." Bonnie said with a smile, his smile and easy going stance made her feel better, despite Lily being several feet near her.

"Since the wedding." Enzo smiled.

"Can I ask, how did you and Damon meet?" she asked, knowing she might not get another chance to actually ask him questions for a while.

"I work with the company, for the past year, but before that I was playing guitar in bars for nickles." Enzo chuckled.

"Damon found me in one of those bars, after a few empty bottles, we passed out in the booth, woke up to a bouncer throwing us out, and quickly became friends." he explained.

"How did you end up working for the company thought?" Bonnie asked, curious.

"I have a nick for filing taxes." he smirked.

"Oh, so you do the companies taxes..." she noted.

"Yup, once a year, and I get paid more than enough to live." Enzo set his empty glass on a passing tray.

"You still play guitar?" Bonnie asked.

"I do." he replied.

"Would you like to dance?" Enzo asked her, and she shrugged.

"Sure, why not." she replied, thinking, Damon was dancing with some.. Lidia, it wouldn't be a bad idea to dance with Enzo. Lily did want them to mingle and dance with some guests.

Bonnie quickly learned, it was _Damon_ , Lily wanted to dance with other women, and she was clearly not okay with Bonnie dancing with Enzo, when suddenly Bonnie's shoulder was touched.

"Enzo, please go away." Lily said to the man and he rolled his eyes before walking away.

"I thought it would be good to dance with him, mingle and such, like Damon." Bonnie stated when she turned to face Lily confused.

"You don't dance with other men." Lily said, sternly.

"But.. Damon's dancing with Lidia." she replied, scanning the women's face.

"That doesn't mean you get to dance with people."

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "I don't see the problem, he's Damon's best friend. I was just trying to get to know him."

"Well, don't." Lily said, and Bonnie was starting to feel like she was being fought at.

"I'll do what I like. You gave me this horrible dress to wear, told me to put my hair up and then told me it didn't look good. Now you're telling me what I can and can't do?" Bonnie asked, eyes getting a little angry.

"Yes, I am telling you, because who else is going to? You're living in our house, married to my son, and you need to learn your place." Lily said, and Bonnie blinked, her heart was beating fast in her chest.

"No, you need to learn your place, your son is 25 fucking years old, and I'm a grown woman." Bonnie said, almost spitting the words before inhaling deeply and turning around so hard that her vision went a little blurry.

As she rushed out off the ballroom, and down the hallway, her eyes stung with tears.

"Mrs. Bonnie-" of the staff said concerned when she was rushing through the foyer, but she ignored them.

Bonnie hurried up the stairs, silver heels clicking against the stairs and she struggled not to fall several times. She made it to the bedroom, slammed the door shut behind her, didn't turn the light on and violently ripped her hair out of the pony tail and clips it was in.

Huffing, tears started to drip from her eyes and she threw the clips and hair tie across the room.

Damon who had noticed Bonnie rushing out of the ballroom, hurried up the stairs and into the room that was lit only by the moonlight shining through the glass balcony door.

He closed the door closed behind him, Bonnie was facing away but he could hear her sniffles.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked slowly, stepped closer to her.

Bonnie turned around, inhaling, tears running down her face, mascara smudged.

"I just want your family to like me. I wore this terrible dress Lily gave me, put my hair up like she wanted, tried to mingle and be friendly. I talked to your family, but they just act like the only way they'll ever like me is if I stand, quiet with no opinion." her voice cracked.

Damon furrowed his brow as he stopped in front of her.

"It doesn't matter if they don't like you." he said slowly.

This apparently didn't help.

"Ever since I moved in, I've just been... trying to be whoever I'm supposed to be now." Bonnie admitted.

Damon reached up to touch her chin.

"You don't have to try to hard Bonnie..." He started, "You don't have to change, a single thing."

Her tears dripped along his thumb, and she swallowed.

After a second she sighed, "I haven't even told you happy birthday yet, I'm so worried about me."

Damon looked into her emerald eyes.

"I don't care about my birthday, I care about you."

Bonnie's lips turned up a bit, and he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tiptoes, and kissed him back softly. His lips calmed every inch of her, made her feel safe, better.

Damon placed his hands on her waist and kissed her a little deeper.

There was a knock at the door and once it opened, Enzo was there.

"Damon, sorry for.. interrupting, you're wanted in the foyer."

Damon broke the kiss, "Of course." he whispered.

He pulled away from Bonnie.

"Put on what you want to wear, do your hair how you want to." he whispered to her.

"Take your time, I'll be downstairs waiting for you."

Bonnie nodded, and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and left the room with Enzo, closing the door behind himself.

Bonnie sighed, sliding off the ugly dress, and pulled a new one out of the closet.

Before putting it on, she cleaned her face of any smudged makeup, and didn't bother putting new makeup on.

Pulling the dress on, she then parted her hair, took a breath and after a moment she headed out of the door and back down the stairs slowly.

Damon was talking to Lily at the bottom of the stairs, but the second he sensed Bonnie walking down them, in a floor length, chiffon, deep red, cinched waist dress; his eyes were glued to her.

Bonnie smiled a little, eyes on him, her curly hair beautifully wild around her face.

They just looked at each other with smiles, violin music playing in the background.  
 _  
Something about him, just gets to me._

Bonnie thought, as she continued to lose herself in the sea of his irises.

* * *

Please ** _leave a review_**! And have a happy new year!


	11. I'll Miss You

**A/N:** The editing for chapters 1-10 is taking longer than expected due to my chronic illness. (It's about 250 pages of editing to do.) So, in order to keep from losing my motivation for writing this story completely, I decided to update with chapter 11. Hope you like it!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 11** \- I'll Miss You_

As Bonnie stood on the stairs, and watched as Damon slowly coaxed his mother out of the conversation she wanted to have with him. Lily's eyed flickered over to Bonnie, and surprisingly, her lips turned up at the edges just a tad.

Lily looked back at Damon, nodded and walked away, back down the hallway to the main party.

Damon turned to face Bonnie completely, and she finished walking down the stairs.

"You look beautiful." he said with a smile, and took her hand as she stepped beside him.

He eyed her lace sleeves that stopped at her wrists, and lifted her hand up to his face, pressing his lips to it.

"I didn't before?" Bonnie teased and he looked down at her.

"You are always beautiful." Damon assured her and as he linked his fingers with hers, they headed down the hallway.

As they entered into the room, Bonnie could feel eyes on her. Unlike before, when she felt as though everyone was just looking at Damon.

More importantly, Giuseppe's eyes were on her, but she didn't care.

Damon led her out into the middle of the room, and she gasped when he pulled her straight into his arms, placing his hands on her waist. Bonnie smiled up at him, tossing her arms around his neck.

"I suppose you want to dance?" she asked, and he grinned back at her.

"How'd you guess?" he swayed them slowly along to the song classical music playing.

Damon grabbed one of her hands and spun her around watching her curly hair flutter outwards.

Bonnie laughed and took his hand in hers, stepping slowly to the left and the right.

She hummed softly, and Damon pulled her closer, putting one hand on her waist, lifting their other hands upwards, in a typical ballroom dancing position.

As the music ceased, a pause before the next song started, Damon leaned downwards.

"You ready to make everyone here jealous?" he whispered and her lips turned upwards as he leaned back, looking at her face.

"Only if you are." Bonnie replied and Damon gave her a coy smile.

The next song, a instrumental, classical version of "Chandelier" started.

Damon pulled her closer, and they started dancing. Whenever he stepped, she followed, along to the flow of the song.

Spinning her around twice, he pulled her back into his arms quickly, and they danced towards the right, his one hand on her waist. Bonnie moved her hips slowly and pushed away from him, before he pulled her back.

She stood a little higher and slowly ran her fingers down the side of his face. As they danced, more people noticed, and within 40 seconds, people were backing away, a circle surrounding them.

As the song reached one of it's utmost cresendo, Damon spun her out again, before pulled her back into his arms, upwards, and holding her feet a foot or so off the floor, while spinning.

He set her back down and Bonnie whipped away from him. As the song slowed a little, the violins more gentle yet intense, she stepped slowly forward towards him, and ran her hand along his chest.

Damon grabbed her waist softly and pulled her closer, swaying her to the left, and to the right.

They began circling each other, their feet practically intertwining, and finally as the song closed, Damon pulled her back upwards, she put her hands on his face, and he set her down very slowly, before dipping her. At the last second, he whipped her back up, face to face with him.

They were both breathing heavily as the room grew silent. People in the party started to clap, and Bonnie smiled up at him.

There was a whistle or too, and flashes surrounded them for a few seconds. Finally, the next song started, and people spread back out along the floor.

Damon chuckled and loosened his grip on Bonnie, and she put her arms back around his neck.

"Oh, look, your father." Bonnie whispered as she looked behind him a little.

"How's he look?" he asked her.

"In general, unamused." she replied and Damon smirked.

Bonnie just looked up at him, and then stood up a little higher, and pressed her lips to his.

Damon closed his eyes, and used his arm to pull her up, her feet a few inches off the floor as he kissed her. Their lips moved together slowly, Bonnie started to giggle against his lips.

"What?" he murmured against hers.

"I'm just happy." she replied pulling away, and he set her back down to the floor.

Damon smiled back at her, "You know, I am too." he admitted.

They slowly swayed, dancing normally for a few minutes.

"That dance was, fiery." Enzo's thick accent said from beside them and Damon looked over at his friend.

"That was our intention." Damon replied with a smirk, and Enzo grinned back at him.

"You wouldn't mind if I danced with you lady, would you?" Enzo asked, "Your mother pulled her away from me last time."

Damon looked at Bonnie, "I don't mind." he replied, and Bonnie smiled.

"I would love to dance with you." she told him and was traded over to Enzo's arms.

Damon stepped over to take his suit jacket off and place it over his chair, across the room at the table.

Bonnie put her arms around Enzo's neck, and his hands went to her waist. She could sense disapproval in the room, but she honestly was done caring.

Why shouldn't she mingle, dance with people?

"You're a wonderful dancer, Bonnie." he told her, and she smiled at him, as a matter of fact, ever since she'd gotten back down stairs, she hadn't been able to stop smiling.

"Thank you, it is kind of my living." she chuckled, and he nodded.

"I apologize if I'm not as skilled as Damon." Enzo smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, you're not a bad dancer." Bonnie insisted as they swayed slowly.

"Perhaps you're just a very alluring dance partner." he said in a honeyed tone.

Bonnie's cheeks flushed, and she chuckled, "You're very kind."

Enzo pulled her just a little closer.

"Has Lily been treating you so harshly all the time?" he asked her.

"Pretty much..." she sighed.

Enzo shook his head, "That's unfortunate."

Bonnie pursed her lips, "What can I do thought?" she asked rhetorically.

He nodded, "You certainly don't deserve to be treated that way." Enzo looked behind her head for a second.

Suddenly Bonnie was tapped on the shoulder.

She turned around to see Mr. Wayne.

"You have a call, Mrs. Bonnie." he said with a smile, and handed her, her ringing cellphone.

"Oh thank you!" she chuckled, and turned back to face Enzo.

"I'm sorry, I have to get this. It's my father." Bonnie explained, and Enzo nodded.

"Thank you for the dance." he said, before leaning down and pressing a light kiss against her cheek, and giving her a nod before stepping away.

Bonnie smiled, "He's nice." she mumbled, and looked back down at her ringing phone before hurrying out of the room and into the hallway.

She clicked answer and pressed the phone to her ear as she walked further down the hallway.

"Hi, dad." Bonnie answered, leaning against a wall.

"Hi, Bonnie, I just wanted to call and see how you are." Rudy replied.

"I'm alright, I'm just at the party for Damon's birthday." she explained, "How are you daddy?"

"I'm doing okay, had to cancel a show tonight because Marks more hungover than.. well, it's not important." her father chuckled.

Bonnie clicked her tongue, "And they say young people are irresponsible."

"Yeah, well, I hope I'm not bothering you." Rudy said slowly.

"No, it's okay. No one will miss me for just a few minutes." she assured him.

"Good, good. I can't wait to see you again, soon." he told her, "And Damon."

Bonnie smiled, "Me either, he likes you."

"He's a good guy, I'll give him that." Rudy said, and Bonnie knew he was smiling.

"He is, huh?" she asked softly.

"I can tell you like him." her father replied.

"I do." Bonnie looked at the floor, her cheeks a little warm.

"I better let you get back to the party, I love you little Bon." Rudy called her by one of her childhood nicknames and she giggled.

"Okay, dad. I love you too."

She hung up the phone and inhaled, looking up from the floor.

Bonnie gasped when Giuseppe was a few feet away from her.

"You startled me." she whispered, and he just stepped over, with an expressionless face.

"I see you changed." he eyed her slowly, and this made her uncomfortable, so she took a step back.

"I also saw you dancing with Lorenzo." Giuseppe said, his eyes meeting hers.

Bonnie nodded, "Yes, he's a nice man." she replied.

"But he's not your husband." the man replied, and she blinked, furrowing her brow.

"Enzo is your sons best friend. I don't see the problem." she said.

Giuseppe stepped closer.

"The problem is, that you aren't supposed to speak, unless spoke too, much less dance with another man." he said, quietly, but his voice sent chills down her spine.

"I don't know why you think you can talk to me that way, but this isn't 40 years ago." Bonnie said, trying to defend herself.

The look in Giuseppe's eyes changed, "It doesn't matter, you are supposed to listen." he almost growled, and Bonnie's heart shot all the way up to her throat.

Just as Giuseppe stepped closer, and Bonnie flinched, sure that he was going to hurt her, there was a voice behind him.

"Giuseppe." Lily called, and her heels clicked against the floor.

"What, Lilian?" he huffed.

"Dinners starting, you're wanted at the table." Lily told him, and he inhaled, before giving Bonnie one last unnerving look and turned, walking down the hallway and past Lily.

Bonnie just stood there, and when she looked up, she made eye contact with Lily. There was a knowing look in the woman's eyes.

"Thank you." she whispered, but she new Lily had heard her, because she nodded once.

Lily disappeared back into the room, and Bonnie was left with her heart pounding in her chest.

Once she could actually think straight, Bonnie inhaled deeply and made her way back into the room.

She looked around, until she finally saw Damon sitting at the long dining table, as everyone else took their seats as well.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes when she saw him holding a half glass of wine, sipping from it. She hurried over there and sat down in her seat beside him.

"Oh my gosh." she gasped, and grabbed the glass from him.

Tipping it to her lips and took a sip, "W-what is this?" she said, gasping again.

Damon blinked, a little startled and look at her.

"What?" he asked, a little worried.

Bonnie licked at her lips, "This tastes..." she started, "This tastes..."

"Like you shouldn't be drinking it!" she hit him in the shoulder hard.

"Ow!" Damon jumped a little, giving her a crazy look.

"You're not supposed to be drinking this." she gave him a disapproving look before taking a gulp of it and setting it on the table beside her plate.

"How come you can drink and I can't?" he asked her.

"Because I'm not an alcoholic." Bonnie said slowly.

Damon chuckled, "I am not either."

"Either way, you've been sober a week, I won't let you ruin it now." she moved the glass even further away from him.

Damon smiled a little, "You're cute when you care." he said and reached over to set his hand on hers on the table.

"Are you sure I'm not annoying?" Bonnie asked, and he chuckled.

"Maybe a little." he teased.

"Shut up." she smiled, and flipped her hand over to link her finger with his.

"You alright?" Damon asked after a second as the food was being served.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, of course." she replied, not mentioning what had happened with Giuseppe. She didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Bonnie, you look amazing." Stefan said from across the table.

Bonnie looked up and smiled, "Thank you, Stefan."

The dinner was rather chatty, and Bonnie tried to focus on just eating her food, while Damon had the occasional conversation with the people around him.

Lily was smiling, laughing, and Bonnie felt as though this was just a rouse.

"Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore." someone said from behind them as they were just finishing their food.

They both turned around to look at the male, who had a camera around his neck.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, I'm Jerome." he introduced himself.

"Hello." Bonnie smiled a little.

"I would love if I could take photo's of you, and feature them on my website." Jerome explained.

Damon looked over at Bonnie, "I'm alright with that, are you?" he asked Bonnie.

"Oh, sure." Bonnie said, and scooted her chair back, getting up.

Damon got up as well, and took her hand.

"Is there a specific room that would be best?" Jerome asked.

Damon pursed his lips, "The parlor, it's only used for very special occasions."

Jerome nodded, and they followed him out of the room.

Bonnie slowly walked beside Damon, holding his hand.

Damon let go of her hand, stepping in front of them and sliding the parlor doors open.

"This room was the first room built, when the house was built in 1930." he told both of them.

"This is perfect." Jerome smiled, "Sit, or stand anywhere you'd like, just, be yourselves."

Bonnie nodded and slowly stepped over to a dark wooden bench, with a light green colored padding on the seat.

She sat down, fixing her dress at the bottom and Damon sat beside her.

"You are such a stunning couple." Jerome said with a smile and lifted his nikon, snapping a few photos of the two of them just looking across the room.

Bonnie blushed and looked at her lap.

Damon turned his head and looked at her.

"Touch her face." Jerome directed him, and he smiled, putting his fingers along her cheek, and the camera flashed again.

Damon then used his fingers to tilt her face up to look at him, and scooted closer.

"Tell me, what is one thing you love about each other." Jerome said, and Damon blinked.

"The way he smells." Bonnie chuckled, and Damon's smile grew larger.

The camera flashed again.

"I love the way she looks in the morning." Damon admitted, and Bonnie's face grew warmer.

Bonnie lifted a hand, and touched his face.

"Oh, yes, yes. That's fantastic, don't move." Jerome took several frame from one angle, then stepped over, getting the shot from the side.

After a second, they both started laughing and Bonnie moved closer.

She gasped when Damon pulled her up into his lap, and Jerome laughed as well.

"I got you mid pulling her up into your lap." he told them.

Bonnie giggled and pressed her forehead against his face.

Damon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"How's married life?" Jerome asked, taking more photos.

"It's..." Damon started, "it's good." he smiled and kissed Bonnie's cheek.

"You two seem happy." the man replied.

Bonnie grinned and wrapped an arm around Damon's neck.

"There are a lot of rumors that your relationship is suspicious." Jerome started, "No offense."

Damon looked over at Jerome for a moment.

"None taken, it's a tough world. There are always skeptics." he said slowly.

Jerome smiled and the camera flashed.

"If it helps, I think these photos will prove people wrong. You're literally the cutest couple, I've ever photographed."

Bonnie blushed.

"What is your favorite part about being married?" he asked, trying to get more emotion from them.

Damon looked down at Bonnie.

"Just to have and hold her, it makes me the luckiest man." he replied, and Bonnie's eyes just met his.

She leaned up a little, and pressed her lips against his.

Damon wrapped his other arm around her, and kissed her back softly as the camera continued to capture the moment.

* * *

Bonnie grumbled, half asleep and as her face was pressed into the pillow, she knew it was only a matter of time before she could need to open her eyes and face the day.

Exhaling she reached a hand out, patting at the other side of the bed she didn't feel Damon there. Her eyelids fluttered open and the sunlight from the open curtains poured into her face.

"Ugh!" she groaned and rolled onto her back.

Exhaling she slowly sat up, and shoved the blanket off of her. Bonnie was still wearing her dress from the night before. Having not gotten to bed until 2am, she had been to tired to do anything but crash into the bed like a meteor.

"Damon?" she mumbled, but as the blurriness cleared, she didn't see him anywhere in the bedroom. There however two black suitcases sitting by his dresser.

Bonnie rubbed at her face.

Slowly getting out of bed, she slipped out of her dress, and walked tiredly over to her dresser, pulling out a large t-shirt and pulling it over her head.

Walking across the room, she opened the door and headed down the stairs.

"Damon?" she called out again.

"In the kitchen!" Damon replied, and when he saw Bonnie walk into the kitchen, her hair was a messy around her head.

"What time is it?" Bonnie asked, not having looked at the clock.

"Noon." he told her.

"Ah." she stepped closer and pressed her face against his suit.

"You don't really have to leave today, do you?" Bonnie asked, voice muffled against his shoulder.

"I'm afraid I do." Damon replied, and turned away from the brewing coffee pot, to wrap his arms around her.

"Can I sneak into your luggage?" she asked, looking upwards at him.

"Sadly no. You would die." he smiled and she laughed.

"I'll only be gone a few days." Damon reminded her, and caressed the back of her head.

Bonnie sighed, "I know."

He reached down, picked her up off her feet and set her on to sit on the counter.

She smiled, "What do you think I am, a doll?" she asked playfully.

"Do you not want me to pick you up anymore?" Damon teased, and stood in front of her, with his hands on her hips.

"Oh, no, no I like that." Bonnie said and put her hands along the collar of his white shirt.

Damon smirked, and leaned down closer to her.

"Do you now?" he asked in a low, gruff voice.

"I like it a lot." she whispered and he leaned down, kissing her lips, and she ran her fingers down the buttons of his shirt.

Damon grinned against her kiss, and ran his fingers along her bare thighs.

"I'm going to miss you." he told her, and she held onto his shirt, keeping him from backing away.

"I'll miss you." Bonnie said sweetly, and kissed his lips again.

"Augh, get a room." Stefan's voice said as he stepped into the kitchen.

Damon looked to the side to see his brother with a kiddish grin on his face.

"You're just jealous." he said.

"Whatever you say." Stefan chuckled and Bonnie looked over at the guy in his pajamas.

"Morning Stefan." she smiled.

"Good morning." Stefan replied, and stepped over to them, opening the cabinet, pulling out a coffee mug.

"You mind?" he asked, and Damon stepped away.

Bonnie hopped up off the counter, and stepped away, running a hand through her gnarled hair.

"Do you often forget your pants?" Stefan teased as he poured coffee into his mug and looked at Bonnie.

She blushed.

Damon rolled his eyes, "If a woman can't go pants-less in her own house, what can she do?"

Bonnie hit him in the arm.

"What? I was defending you." he said and she narrowed her eyes.

"Anway..." his brother shook his head, "Have a nice trip to London." he tilted his mug at Damon before walking out of the kitchen.

Bonnie turned to face Damon.

"You want me to go to the airport with you?" she asked him, but he shook his head.

"No, no. You go, spend your free time with Caroline." he insisted.

"You sure?" Bonnie questioned, and Damon nodded, looking down at her.

"Mr. Salvatore. Your things have been put into your car." Mr. Wayne said from the entrance of the kitchen.

"Thank you, I'll be out soon." Damon said, and Bonnie watched Wayne smiled, and walk away.

"Call me." Bonnie said pointing her finger at him.

"I absolutely will." he promised her, and she stood on her tip toes, kissing his lips.

Damon kissed her back slowly, and then used one of his arms to just hold her there.

"This whole liking each other thing is nice." he grinned against her mouth.

Bonnie giggled, "Yeah, who would've thought?"

Damon kissed her lips once more, before giving her a squeeze.

"Alright, I'll call you when I can." he said and she nodded.

"Can't wait." Bonnie smiled, and leaned against the counter as she watched Damon disappear from the kitchen.

* * *

Bonnie sat on the couch in Caroline's apartment, drinking wine from a blue mug, rather than a wine glass.

"I've missed hanging out with you!" Caroline chuckled, sitting down beside her.

"I know, I've missed it too. Everything's changing more and more." Bonnie pursed her lips.

"But, for the better, right?" her friend asked, curious.

Bonnie sipped at the wine, "I suppose..."

Caroline gave her a look, "You and Damon like each other! You kissed, which I can't believe. I thought it would never happen."

"Hey!" she narrowed her eyes.

"What? I'm just being honest." she chuckled.

Bonnie smiled a little.

"I am glad that, you're not married to someone you hate, though." Caroline brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

"Me too." she admitted, looking across the room for a moment.

"Have you... had sex yet?" Caroline asked, and Bonnie coughed.

"Oh my god, no. If we had, you'd be the first know." she laughed, her face flushing deeply.

Caroline laughed as well, "I was just making sure!"

Bonnie shook her head, and took one more drink of her wine before setting her mug on the coffee table.

"You really like him, though. I can tell." Caroline smiled, and tilted her head to the side.

Bonnie nodded, "I do, I really, really do." she grinned and rested her chin in her hand.

"He's patient, kind, charming, silly." she whispered, and her eyes flickered over past Caroline's head.

Damon really was such a good man. Bonnie already liked him so much, and their situation was weird, but hell, did that even matter anymore?

"I'm happy for you." Caroline reached over, touching her friends hand.

Bonnie smiled, and looked back at her.

"Thank you..." she started, "How are you and Matt doing?" she asked.  
Caroline pursed her lips, "We're alright."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Don't lie to me."

"Well..." the blonde inhaled, "I miss him, I want him to come visit."

Bonnie blinked, "Okay, what's the problem?"

"He doesn't have the money." Caroline told her.

"The give him the money." she chuckled.

"He doesn't want to take any money." she frowned.

Bonnie looked to the side, "Then, why don't you go visit him?" she suggested.

Caroline exhaled, "I don't know, he says he'd rather visit here."

"Huh." she replied, furrowing her brow.

"That sounds weird." Bonnie admitted.

"Really?" Caroline asked.

"Uh, yeah, like really fishy." she chuckled, shaking her head.

Matt and Caroline had been together for a while, Bonnie had known Matt since before he even starting dating her chest friend. And, Bonnie knew that Matt was usually one to always want to see his girlfriends, no matter what he had to do.

"Thank God, I thought I was paranoid!" Caroline exhaled and threw her hands in the air, they landed on her lap with a smack.

"You need to talk to him, because, if he hurts you, I'll hurt him." Bonnie said slowly.

Caroline smirked, "Yeah sure."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "No, I'm serious!"

Caroline laughed, "Alright, I'll talk to him."

"I. Am. Serious, Care. I will fight him!" she put her fists in the air, and Caroline nearly tipped over when she giggled.

Bonnie grinned.

Although Caroline was nervous about her relationship with Matt, and Bonnie hated that she was going to be away from Damon for even just a few days during the beginning stages of their relationship... They were both happy in that moment.

"So, how is the whole situation with his parents going?" Caroline asked, curiously.

Bonnie exhaled, "I don't know. I think Lily is brainwashed by Giuseppe." she admitted.

"Oh?" she furrowed her brow.

"Something isn't right about him. He acts like women aren't supposed to speak, talk to other men. He's really, hard core, traditional." Bonnie replied with a frustrated look in her emerald eyes.

Caroline shook her head, "That sucks. Men who are like that, need a swift kick in the ass."

"He kind of scares me." she admitted.

"Why? What did he say, or do?" Caroline said quickly, scooting closer.

"I swear to God, if he hurt you-"

Bonnie cut her off, "No, he didn't! But, I thought he was going to to, for a few seconds."

"Did you tell Damon?" she asked.

"No... I'm worried it'll start more drama." she sighed.

"You need to talk to him about it. You being scared of your own father in-law is screwed up." Caroline frowned.

Bonnie nodded, "I know... I need to talk to him about it."

Sighing, she looked across the room.

If only she hadn't waited until Damon was on a plane headed to a different country.

* * *

Please **_leave a review_**!


	12. Deathly Enigma

_**Chapter 12** – Deathly Enigma_

Bonnie and Caroline walked slowly one of the large strips in the mall. Surrounded by clothing stores, phone case stands, nail salons and cinnabon shops, they each carried about two bags.

"We haven't been to the mall in forever." Bonnie commented, shifting her forever21 and Macy's bags around.

"Well, we have been busy with school, and you've been busy being married." Caroline smiled and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, don't remind me about school." she shook her head.

"You have to decide what you're going to do eventually. If you don't, you're just dragging it out for no reason." Caroline reminded her, giving her a 'know all' look.

Bonnie sighed and they continued walking down the isle.

She knew that she needed to figure out if she was going to stay at Whitmore, and if she wasn't then she'd need to decide what she was going to do with her life. Or, at least figure out what she was going to do for now.

There were multiple things on her mind. Telling Damon about how Giuseppe acted, figuring out whether or not to leave Whitmore, and trying to actually be happy in this new relationship. It wasn't that hard to be happy, not with Damon, however the circumstances surrounding their marriage, was a little daunting.

Lily hated her, or maybe she didn't. Maybe it was just Giuseppe, and his over bearing, possessive ways that had gotten into the woman's head. But, being in the lime light, married into the family of one of the most famous companies, and critics, while a the general population of that family, hated you... It was kind of, well, it was shitty.

"How am I supposed to get people who don't like me, to like me?" Bonnie asked after a long moment, they were turning into a different strip.

Caroline exhaled, "You can't. People who don't like you, are only to like you, if they change." she told her and they stopped walking, the people behind them going around them.

Bonnie turned to face her, "Yeah, I mean, I haven't given them a reason not to like me."

"The thing is..." the blond started, "...they don't need to like you, they just have to respect you."

Her lips turned up at the edges a bit, and she reached a hand over, touching Caroline's arm.

"You're right, but, I still can't force them to respect me." Bonnie replied, and she rolled her eyes.

"You know what, let's get off this subject." Caroline grabbed her arm and pulled her forward as they continued waking.

"I'm in." Bonnie chuckled and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, I have an idea." she said, and smiled at Bonnie.

Bonnie looked over at her, not so sure she liked the look on her face.

"What is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Caroline grinned and without saying anything pulled Bonnie forward two shops and right into the Journelle lingerie store.

"Oh no." Bonnie said and pulled away from her.

"Come on!" Caroline laughed, "You can pick out something nice."

Bonnie glared at her, "If this is your way of trying to say I need to have sex with Damon, it's a terrible way."

The blonde shook her head, "No! I'm just saying, you should pick out something special for when you guys do..." she waved casually.

Bonnie's face flushed light pink and she cleared her throat, eying the rows of delicate, thin, expensive lingerie.

"Fine." she exhaled.

"Really?"Caroline asked with a smile.

"Yes." Bonnie chuckled and started down one of the isles with her best friend.

"Although, I already have about a pound of lingerie, thanks to you." she said looking over at her.

Caroline shrugged, "You can't have too much lingerie."

Bonnie shook her head, "You said the same thing about the 'black magic pocket rocket.' when we were in Spencers."

Caroline blinked, and hit her in the shoulder hard, looking around to make sure no one heard her.

"What? Did I embarrass you?" she asked, looking at her red faced friend.

"Tease me all you want, but you got one too." Caroline reminded her and Bonnie looked away casually, pretending not to hear her.

"Did you see the one that had a foundation brush on the one end?" she asked Bonnie who chuckled.

"Yes."

Caroline smiled as they looked around, "It seemed nice."

Bonnie scoffed, "Yeah because I want to apply my foundation with something that was near my-" she was interrupted by a young woman wearing a Journelle name tag that said, 'Kelly'.

"Hey, do you two ladies need any help?" Kelly asked.

Bonnie flushed quickly, hoping she hadn't heard what they were talking about.

"Uh, no that's okay." she replied.

Kelly nodded, "Alright, I'll be around if you do." she smiled and walked away.

Caroline giggled and turned Bonnie around to face her.

"Okay, so what do you think Damon likes?" she asked, and Bonnie pursed her lips.

"I have no idea." she replied, with a embarrassed chuckle.

"Then, let's just go with what you like." Caroline smiled, and Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"I like sweats, and over sized t-shirts." she said slowly, and Caroline shook her head.

"Then, let's go with what I think, would look hot on you." she said with a grin and they continued down another isle.

Caroline gasped and shuffled over to a row of babydolls.

"Oh my god, this." she said touching the fabric.

Bonnie walked over and looked at it.

It was a L'AGENT Kaity Babydoll, black, sheer with small pink flowers along the bra of it.

"It's completely see through." she chuckled, and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"That's the point."

Bonnie pursed her lips and ran her fingers along the flouncy bodice.

"It is nice." she smiled a little.

Caroline pulled one off the rack, and held it up to her.

"Aww, look it matches your eyes." she smiled.

"It's black." Bonnie smirked.

Caroline rolled her eyes.

Bonnie grabbed the lingerie and looked at it for a few minutes.

"Okay, it's grown on me." she admitted, "But, this isn't my size." she chuckled and put it back on the wrack, running her fingers along the hangers.

"Is small a 6-8?" Bonnie asked looking over at Caroline.

"No a small is 4-6, medium is 6-8." she replied.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "I'm a 6, so do I get a small or medium?" she asked.

"Medium." she chuckled, "Room to grow is better than out growing it."

"True, if I quiet ballet, I don't need to run 3 miles after eating a pizza." Bonnie rolled her eyes and grabbed a medium off the rack.

"See anything else you like?" Caroline asked as they continued down the isle.

Bonnie eyed everything and stopped after a second.

"Oh, I like this." she chuckled, touching a dark blue colored Fortuna Balconet Bra.

"Get it!" Caroline told her and Bonnie smiled, grabbing one in her size and they continued walking.

"Alright, let's get pay, get out of here and get some food." Bonnie suggested, her stomach growling.

"Yeah, the mall closes in 20 minutes anyway." she nodded and they went over to the counter.

The man at the counter rang her things up, folded them neatly, and placed them in a black bag.

"That will be $218.36." he said and Bonnie pulled her black MasterCard out of her purse, before sliding it along the card reader, and pressing her code in.

"Can I interest you in Journelle Fashion Magazine, $10 a month, $60 a year?" the man asked and she shook her head.

"No thanks." she smiled and took her bag after he placed the receipt in it.

Bonnie put her card back, and put her wallet in her purse before they headed out of the store.

"That wasn't so bad." Caroline chuckled as they made their way to the food court.

"I will admit, having something I picked out to wear when Damon and I decide to take that step, will be nice." she smiled and shifted her bags in her arms.

Caroline nodded and looked to the side.

"Hey, is that Melanie?" she asked, and Bonnie turned her head.

"Who's Melanie?" Bonnie asked confused but they were already walking over to the light skinned woman with red hair who was looking through her purse as she stood outside the Sears.

"Melanie?" Caroline said, but the woman didn't look.

"Melanie Blanc?" she said again and the woman turned her head as they stopped about 4 feet from her.

"Caroline?" she blinked and then smiled a little.

"I knew that was you." Caroline chuckled and they stepped a little closer.

Melanie nodded, "Well, hey." she replied, sliding her purse back on her arm.

Their eyes instantly went to her stomach, which was rounded out, like a pregnancy bump, but they weren't about to assume anything.

"Ah, who are you?" Melanie asked, looking over at Bonnie, equally as confused.

"I'm Bonnie." she chuckled, "How does Caroline know you, but not me?" she asked, giving her best friend the side eye.

"I only met Caroline twice." she explained, "I was a fill in for the Whitmore Spring show a year ago."

Bonnie blinked, "Oh, yeah! I wasn't there because I sprained my ankle."

"I haven't heard about you in anything recently." Caroline commented.

Melanie nodded, "Yeah, as you can tell, I have a little space for rent." she joked, and put a hand on her back, looking down at her stomach, confirming their original thought.

"Awe, how far along are you?" Bonnie asked smiling.

"A little over 4 months." she replied.

"Congratulations." Caroline told her, reaching out to touch her arm.

Melanie smiled, "Thanks. I can't dance anymore, not for a while. But, my ballet days were near end anyhow."

Bonnie blinked, "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm 26." she told them.

"Oh, wow, I would've guessed, 22 at the most." she raised her eyebrows.  
"Well, thanks. That's kind." Melanie put a hand on her stomach.

"You can always teach." Caroline suggested.

"I've been pondering that." the woman pursed her lips.

Bonnie tilted her head to the side, "Hey, why don't you come with us to get something to eat?" she asked.

Melanie smiled but shook her head, "I would, but I have a pregnancy class to get too." explained.

"But, I'll be in town for another week." she said after a second.

Caroline pulled out a business card she had for casting, and handed it to Melanie.

"Thanks, I'll be in touch." Melanie smiled, "Nice to meet you, Bonnie."

"You too." Bonnie nodded and they watched as Melanie headed away from them.

"She's nice." she commented.

Caroline chuckled, "She's one of the best dancers in the country, she's normally in New York." she told her.

"I wonder why she's in Mystic Falls." Bonnie said curiously.

"Her brother lives here." she explained, and they continued walking towards the food court.

After getting some Panda Express, they sat down at one of the square tables in the middle of the court.

"Explain to me again why you couldn't go to London with him?" Caroline asked casually, eating.

Bonnie took a sip of her iced tea, "He didn't really tell me, but I know it's his father."

"So, why didn't he just ignore his stupid father?" she asked and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Because it's business. Why start problems when it comes to their business? You know." she sighed.

"Yeah, well, I think the whole thing is ridiculous." Caroline furrowed her brow.

"Look at it this way, if I was there with Damon, I wouldn't be here with you." Bonnie reminded her.

"That's true." she nodded, "Hey, do you wanna stay the night tonight?" she asked.

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah sure."

* * *

Later that night, Bonnie was sound asleep in the large bed beside Caroline when she was hit in the shoulder by her friend.

"Bonnie wake up." Caroline grumbled, and gave Bonnie's head a shove.

Bonnie groaned, "What?" she mumbled and Caroline tossed Bonnie's vibrating onto her hip.

Bonnie jumped, startled and grabbed her phone off of her body and held it in front of her face.

SKYPE CALL: DAMON SALVATORE

"It's Damon." she said tiredly and pressed to answer the video call.

The second it answered she used her other hand to rub over her face, the bright light in her eyes was blinding.

"When I said call me, I didn't exactly mean Skype call." Bonnie rubbed at her eyes.

Once her vision cleared, she looked at Damon's face on the screen through narrowed eyes.

It was day where Damon was, he was dressed in a suit, his face clean shaven, but his eyes looked tired.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late there. But I'm about to go in for a meeting and I don't know when I'll have any free time." Damon said, his voice loud in the dark bedroom.

Caroline grumbled and put one of the pillows over her face.

"It's okay." Bonnie yawned, two seconds from passing back out.

"No it's not!" Caroline said muffled.

Damon chuckled, "I take it, you're staying at Carolines."

Bonnie nodded, and opened her eyes a little wider, looking at Damon's face. It was just as handsome on live video.

"I'll call you again within the next day. You get some sleep, okay?" he asked.

Bonnie smiled, "Okay... Good morning." she chuckled.

Damon smirked, "Goodnight, Bon."

Bonnie hung up the call and shoved her phone under her pillow, being burying her face against the pillow.

Caroline pulled the pillow of her face, and scooted over, curling in towards Bonnie.

Bonnie wrapped her arm tiredly around her friend, and let her press her forehead against her shoulder.

"You guys are cute." Caroline whispered, and Bonnie chuckled.

"Go back to sleep." she patted Caroline's head, and she nuzzled her face against Bonnie.

"K. But if he calls again, you're sleeping on the balcony."

* * *

"Chavel, pas de." Ms. Bayes called to the class as they practiced.

Bonnie was in one corner, a few feet away from Caroline, slowly practicing.

"Arabesque." she whispered at the same time as the teacher.

She returned to fifth position and inhaled slowly.

Ms. Bayes didn't seem to care anymore whether or not Bonnie was there. She hadn't been given a main part in the Winter show, much less even considered for a secondary.

"Plie, turn-out, and croise."

Bonnie sighed, losing her balance.

"Bennett. You're losing your game." Luke, one of the dancer to the left of her said.

"It's not Bennett anymore, and shut up." she glared and moved back to fifth position.

Luke smirked.

"Alright, from the top of the third scene." Ms. Bayes said and everyone gathered in their position.

Bonnie moved over to hers but when she did, it was turned around. Caroline wasn't to the right of her anymore.

"Uh. Ms. Bayes?" she asked, stepping over to her.

"Yes?" she asked, not even looking up at her.

"Did you change the third scene?" Bonnie asked, confused, unsure of how she could've changed it without her knowing.

Ms. Bayes was writing on a clip board.

"Yes, you're not in it anymore." she replied.

Bonnie blinked, "Were you planning on even discussing this with me?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"I am now, aren't I? Ms. Bayes looked over at her.

"If I'm not in the third, what scenes am I in?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"The first and fifth." Ms. Bayes told her.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Those are the shortest scenes, there's 2 hours of scenes from the first to the fifth. I'd be back stage the whole time."

"Yes." was all she said.

Bonnie just stared at her, before turning on her heel and walking across the room quickly.

She didn't sit on the seats along the side of the room, but pulled off her pointe shoes, tosses them in her bag and walked out the door into the hallway.

Inhaling she leaned against the way.

"Damnit." she ran a hand along her face.

How was Bonnie supposed to be motivated to stay in ballet when she felt expendable? Sure, she could change companies, or teachers, but she'd be starting at the bottom all over again.

Pulling her phone out she pressed on her fathers contact hoping he was available to talk.

After ringing several times, she was sent to voice mail.

"Hey, dad, I just wanted to talk. I miss you, call me back when you can." Bonnie said slowly, and hung up the phone, sighing.

Caroline came walking out of the door holding her bag of stuff several seconds later.

"I saw you walk out upset, you okay?" she asked, leaning against the wall beside her.

"Uh, no. My scenes in the winter show have been cut to the first and fifth. That's 30 minutes, out of two and half hours." Bonnie yanked her pony tail out, her curly hair falling around her face.

Caroline shook her head, "yeah, mine was cut to the second and fifth."

"Still more time than me." she glared at the wall in front of them.

"Ms. Bayes is a bitch, let's ditch." Caroline suggested, and Bonnie looked over at her.

"I don't know, I'm not really in the mood to do anything." she replied.

"Okay, then I'll just drive you home." she smiled.

Luke opened the door and looked out, "Are you two coming back in? We're about to practice the first again."

"No." Caroline snapped at him, and he rolled his eyes, shutting the door.

Bonnie chuckled when her friend looked back at her.

"Put your shoes on, and I'll take you come." she told her.

Bonnie pulled her sneakers from her bag, shoved the on, put her coat on and headed through the school with Caroline.

"Maybe I should talk to Ms. Bayes about her switching my scenes without talking to me." Bonnie sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Good luck with that." she replied sarcastically.

Bonnie glared over at her, "Oh, thanks."

"You know I support you, but I also know she's stubborn." Caroline shook her head.

"She's more than that." she sighed and leaned her head back against the seat.

Once Bonnie was dropped off at home, she was greeted to an 'empty' house. The only people besides her, was the Butler, Wayne and the Maid, Alice.

"Mrs. Bonnie." Wayne said as he stepped over, "May I take your jacket?"

Bonnie smiled a little and slid her coat off, handing it to him.

"Can I get your anything else? Are you hungry?" he asked her.

She blinked, "Oh, well, I haven't had dinner yet, but I was just going to make something."

"Nonsense, you've had a long day. We'll take care of you." Wayne smiled.

Bonnie blushed, feeling a little spoiled, "Thank you. I'd just like some pasta, any sort of sauce is fine." she told him.

He nodded and turned away, hanging her coat up and then disappearing into the kitchen.

Bonnie sighed, smiling a bit. For the first time in a while, she felt like she was home. Lily wasn't there, Giuseppe wasn't there, and neither was Damon, but, this was okay. Because while 2 of her new family didn't like her, Wayne and Alice did. And, they were, unfortunately, almost more important than Lily and Giuseppe in Bonnie's eyes.

As Bonnie started up the stairs, her phone started ringing. She pulled it out, not recognizing the number but pressed answer anyway, and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered, stepping slowly up the stairs.

"Bonnie, hello." Enzo's thick accent came from the other end.

"Oh, Enzo." she chuckled, having forgotten she gave him her number, and her fathers before the party ended the night before.

"How are you doing?" he asked her, and she thought it was a little strange that he was calling her out of the blue just to ask how she was. Then again, not many people had ever done that.

"I'm alright, drama with ballet, the usual. How are you?" Bonnie asked, leaning against the bannister once she got to the top of the stairs.

"I am much the same, except, drama with taxes, and the economy." Enzo teased and she smiled.

"Well, one thing is sure. There is drama in every field." she chuckled.

"This is true." he replied, and for a second it was just silent, which was kind of awkward.

"Okay, so, thanks for calling." Bonnie pursed her lips.

Enzo cleared his throat, "No problem, have a good evening, Bonnie." the way he said her name was kind of drawn out by his accent and she smiled before hanging up the phone.

Sighing, she made her way to the bedroom, and tossed her bag on the floor. Kicking off her sneakers, she flopped on the bed and closed her eyes.

Her moment in silent didn't last too long, as her phone started to go off, and she groaned, grabbing it and looking at it. Bonnie blinked, her attitude completely changing when she saw it was another Skype call from Damon. She knew it was the middle of the night there, so he must have been calling to better suit her timezone.

Bonnie sat up quickly, leaning against the headboard and brushed her hair out of her face before answering.

"Hi." she said when their faces finally popped up on the screen.

"Hello." Damon replied, his face illuminated by a dim yellow light, and he was wearing his night t-shirt. She recognized the wine stain on the v-neck of it.

"How late is it there? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Bonnie smiled and tilted her head to the side.

"It's almost midnight." he chuckled and she shook her head.

"I just really wanted to see you." Damon smiled and she smiled back.

"And hear your voice." he added, watching her cheeks blush.

"I really wanted too see you too." Bonnie admitted, and relaxed her shoulders.

Damon ran his fingers through his hair, "I hope you've been okay."

"I had a difficult day, and strangely, Enzo called me." she told him and he raised an eyebrow.

"Enzo called you?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah he asked me how I am."

"Huh." Damon mumbled, then cleared his throat, "You said you had a difficult day, you want to elaborate?" he asked, and she pursed her lips.

"If you want to hear about it, sure?" Bonnie shrugged.

He frowned, "Of course I want to hear about it."

"Okay." she smiled a tad, then sighed, "Ms. Bayes, cut my scenes for the winter show. Now I have only thirty minutes in it all."

"Seriously?" Damon shook his head, "That's ridiculous."

Bonnie nodded, "I mean, I guess it doesn't matter, because I don't even know if I want to be part of ballet anymore."

"It still matters, you're there, practicing now, a part of it now." he insisted.

"Thanks..." she exhaled, "Oh um, can I talk to you about something?" Bonnie asked, knowing she needed to mention what had happened with Giuseppe.

Damon blinked, "Yeah sure of course."

"Well, at the party, your father kind of...frightened me. I guess, I don't really know how to explain it." she started, "He basically spoke to me like I'm a 12 year old girl at a boarding school, in 1930."

"What did he say?" Damon replied, putting a hand to his forehead.

"He told me I shouldn't speak unless spoken to, scolded me for dancing with Enzo, and told me I'm just supposed to listen." Bonnie told him.

Damon sighed, "I'm sorry, about him..."

She furrowed her brow, "It's not just that, I felt like he was going to hurt me, Damon I felt threatened."

He looked at her through the screen and furrowed his own brow, "I will talk to him, as soon as I get back."

"You sure?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, I'm positive. He might get away with talking to my mother that way, but he can't talk to you that way." Damon responded.

She inhaled, "Well, I don't think he should talk to her that way.. either.. But, okay. Thanks."

They just sat in silence for a moment, looking at each other.

"I wish I could kiss you." Bonnie whispered, and his lips turned up at the edges.

"Aren't you romantic." Damon teased her and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you're going to make fun of me, then I take it back." she looked away.

"I wish I could kiss you too." he told her and she smiled, looking back at the phone.

Bonnie kissed her hand, and pretended to blow it at the phone. Damon lifted his hand and closed it like he had caught it.

"Don't lose that, it traveled three thousand miles" she pointed her finger at him, he pressed his hand to his chest.

"I would not dare." Damon wiggled his eyebrows and she smiled, cheeks flushing.

Alice was suddenly standing in front of the door, with her blond hair in a bun, wearing black jeans, a gray long sleeve shirt and a white apron.

"Mrs. Bonnie, your dinner is ready." she smiled, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, thank you. I'll be down in a sec." Bonnie said looking to the side of her phone.

"Is that Alice?" Damon asked, and Bonnie nodded, turning her phone around so he could see the woman in her early thirties standing across the room.

"Hello, Mr. Salvatore." Alice waved.

"Hi, Alice." Damon smiled and her face flushed pink before she walked away from the door and back down the stairs.

Bonnie turned her phone back around and looked at him.

"I have to go eat." she explained.

"Alright, it was nice talking to you." he tilted his head to the side.

Bonnie smiled, "You too.. I.." she cleared her throat, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." he gave her a wink before hanging up the call.

She smiled, and shook her head, before getting up off the bed.

* * *

 _London, England_.

Finally, Damon was at his third and final meeting He had a pot of coffee practically running through his veins and another cup of it in his left hand as he tried to pay attention to what was going on around him.

"Salvatore would benefit from merging, this is clear." one of his adviser stated.

"But, would we? Would Birmingham?" the English adviser questioned.

Damon exhaled, tapping his fingers along the table.

"Mr. Salvatore, your opinion would be helpful."

Damon cleared his throat and looked at the 5 people sitting around him.

"My honest opinion is, that it would not be a good idea." he told them, and his fathers adviser nearly had a heart attack.

"Not with the contract agreements we have now." continued, "If, Birmingham were to open a Salvatore name company, in London, then I would agree. However, putting a merged company in Manchester, would benefit them for the most part."

The English adviser clicked her pen, "What would we gain from attributing to the building of your school in London, since, our name would not be part of that particular school."

Damon leaned back in his chair a bit, "Thirty percent net worth." he offered.

"Forty." Portia Ewald, the co-owner of the English company bargained, writing something on her notepad.

Damon looked over at his adviser who shook their head.

He licked his lips, just wanting to get this meeting over with.

"Thirty, and we will make the school we are building in California, a merged school." he said.

Portia turned to her adviser, who wrote something down and scooted it over to her.

"If we merge companies, thee of your schools, and three of ours will become a merged district, is this including or added onto California, and the school built in London?" she asked after reading the paper.

Damon exhaled, "Added on to. Plus, per current contract agreements, we each receive ten percent net worth from all schools, and studios, even those that are not merged."

"So, Birmingham will receive ten percent, from all Salvatore net, and Salvatore will receive ten percent of all Birmingham net?" the adviser asked.

"Yes." Damon nodded.

"Since we're changing the contract, let's change that to fifteen percent." Portia said folding her hands on the handle.

"Thirteen." Damon's adviser cut in.

"Deal."

Damon's assistant stood up, grabbing his notes on the changes to the contract.

"So, are we merging?" Damon asked, tilting his head to the side.

Portia smiled at him, "I guess we are Salvatore."

"Alright, Mr. Salvatore, Mrs. Ewald. I will go make the changes to the contract, print several copies, and then you two have some signing to do." Damon's assistant smiled and made his way out of the room.

The advisers all left the room to get something to eat finally, and Portia was telling her assistant what she wanted brought back.

"So, I hear you're married now, Mr. Salvatore." Portia said brushing her black hair that was in a bob, behind her ear.

Damon nodded, "As I heard you are. Mrs. Ewald." he replied casually, stressing the _Mrs._

Portia smiled, "I recall, the last time I saw you, I had two hands tied to a bedpost, and you had your hands pretty full as well."

He grabbed his coffee, taking a drink, "Really? You still think about that?" he chuckled.

"Occasionally." she flipped her fringe.

"Well, I am a married man now." Damon purposefully drank his coffee with the hand his wedding band was on.

Portia crossed her legs, "However, since I know your family, I'm sure yours was arranged, just like mine."

Setting his coffee down he leaned forward in his chair a bit, resting his elbows on the table.

"Portia, let me make this clear. I've been to London several times since our rendezvous 3 years ago. If I wanted to have sex with you again, I would have already." he said rather bluntly and she blinked.

"Good point." Portia said, smiling and leaned back in her chair, ending the conversation.

Damon leaned back in his chair before pulling his phone out.

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _Don't forget to call me tonight_

he smiled, and typed back,

 _ **Damon:**_ _How could I forget? Plus, I might even be home by tonight if I'm lucky.  
_

* * *

Bonnie smiled as she looked at her text from Damon, but quickly set her phone down so Ms. Bayes wouldn't bitch at her.

Class was almost over, but she knew she needed to talk to Bayes about changing her scenes without telling her the other day. She'd been trying to aviod it until she had the weekend to be away from the raging annoyance Bayes was becoming. But, honestly, she knew she needed to confront her now.

"Alright, we'll go over the fifth and thirds tomorrow." Ms. Bayes called to the class, "Get here an hour earlier than usual."

Several people grumbled, but didn't waste time to go and get their bags up off the floor and take switch their shoes.

Bonnie inhaled and slowly walked over to Ms. Bayes, barefoot, having not put her sneakers on.

"Ms. Bayes." she said and stood beside the teacher.

Bayes once again didn't look at her, just flipped through pages on her script.

"What, Bonnie?" she asked.

Bonnie swallowed, "You changes my scenes, without telling me. I thought you should know, that upset me."

"Okay, and?" Ms. Bayes asked, scribbling.

"And I think it's wrong of you to just change my scenes without telling me, or talking to me about it." she said, folding her arms over her chest.

Bayes looked up at her, "Well, what's done is done."

Bonnie opened her mouth but couldn't even find the words, she was taken aback by how little this woman seemed to care.

"Okay, you know what. You should've told me you were changing my scenes. But, it doesn't matter." she put her hands at her sides, taking a breath, "Because I'm done."

Ms. Bayes looked at her confused.

Bonnie swallowed, trying to make sure this was what she wanted, and she nodded, confirming her internal monologue.

"Yup, I'm done with you, and with this ballet company." she nodded again and turned around, grabbing her bag, and walking straight across the room to the door barefoot.

"Find yourself a new dancer to shove in the background, bitch." Bonnie said and was clear out the door in two seconds flat.  
Caroline ran out after her after shoving her shoes on, bag over her shoulder.

"Oh my god!" she said, trying to keep up with Bonnie's pace.

"I can't believe you just did that." Caroline said, grinning.

"Yeah, me either. But, I needed to." Bonnie swallowed as they exited the building and the snow was freezing under her feet.

"You should probably put your coat and shoes on." she chuckled, and Bonnie inhaled, then exhaled, trying to calm her heart down.

She pulled her coat, shoes and socks out of her back, putting them on and taking another breath of the cool air.

Caroline wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "You alright?" she asked.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, I just want to go home, maybe take a hot bath."

"Well, you go do that. Call me later." she leaned over, kissed her friends cheek and walked her to her car.

Once Bonnie got home, she was greeted by Wayne as always.

"Mrs. Bonnie, you look distressed." he commented as he hung her coat up for her.

Bonnie slid her shoes off near the door.

"I just, made a big step in a unknown path, is all." she chuckled, "Don't worry about it."

"Whatever you like." Wayne smiled.

"Why don't you take a break? Stefan probably won't be home for a few hours." Bonnie motioned him.

"I couldn't. Do you need anything?" he asked.

Bonnie shook her head, "No, no. Go, take a break. You and Alice both." she insisted.

Wayne pursed his lips, "I suppose Alice and I could have tea in the library."

"Yes, Alice, you and tea in the library." she smiled, and motioned him away again.

The butler smiled and gave her a solid nod before disappearing.

Bonnie jogged up the stairs and rushed into the room to toss her bag down and plop down on the bed as usual. In a perfect world, this would be the time Damon would call her again. Perfectly on time. However, she knew he was probably still in his meet that had been going on forever because of a stalemate. She wondered if they finally agreed on merging.

Bonnie pulled her hair out of the pony tail, closed the bedroom door with her foot and stripped off all her clothing leaving them on the floor.

Walking into the bathroom, she smiled as she walked over to the cultured marble bathtub, that was twice as deep as a normal bathtub, hence it's manufacturer name of "soaking tub." It was 4 feet wide by 6 feet long, but only took up a small portion of the massive bathroom.

Bonnie turned on the hot water and pulled the plug dropped up so the water would stay in.

Standing there, naked with her hands on her hips, she waited until it had at least 2 inches of water before pulling a squeeze bottle of strawberry center bubbles from the standing cabinet and pouring a forth of the bottle in.

Five minutes later and the tub was a little over half full of water, with a solid 4 inches of bubbles all the way around. Bonnie chuckled and turned the water off after mixing in some cold.

She slid into the tub, inhaled sharply, when it was hotter than expected, and slowed her pace. She slowly slid down until her butt was against the bottom and sighed. The water covered all of her, up to the base of her neck.

Her hair was hanging behind her, off the ledge of the tub, a new strands dipping into the water.

She moved her hands around to get bubbles away from her face, and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the edge.

Bonnie reached a hand down to the side of the bathtub, trying to find the small notch to open a panel along the tub. She found it, opened it, and turned one of the knobs. The jets turned on suddenly, and she laughed, one of then tickling her thigh. She then pressed another, the stereo system turning on, music pouring out of the speakers along the corners of the room. Bonnie clicked through the preset radio stations, until she heard "Out of The Woods" by Taylor Swift come on and she closed the panel.

Putting her arm back in the water, and hummed along quietly.

"Hmmm hmm.. You took a polaroid of us." she sang softly.

"The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color."

Bonnie inhaled deeply, wishing she'd set up candles, but the strawberry scent was pleasant enough.

"Are we in the clear yet, the clear yet good." she smiled while singing, wiggling her feet under the water a little.

"Baby like we stood a chance, hmm hmmm."

Running the bubbles along her arms she bopped her head.

"Are we out of the woods, are we out of the woods."

Bonnie continued slowly washing the rest of her body, trying to keep the majority of her hair dry.

She gave up and dunked herself under water, holding her breath and running her hands along her hair as it wet.

Coming back up she inhaled deeply and wiped at her face.

"Remember when you hit the brakes too soon, twenty stitches in the hospital room!" she sang intensely, trying to catch her breath, and spat some remaining water out.

Leaning back she gave up singing for the rest of the song, out of breath and tried to relax.

"Hmmm, out of the woods." she whispered, and she wasn't sure how long later, but she may have dozed off. The water was luke warm and the bubbles nearly gone.

Bonnie chuckled and opened the panel turning off the jets and the radio before stepping out of the the bathtub.

She drained the tub and dried her body and hair, before pulling on a clean light cotton gray robe and walked out of the bathroom.

Sitting on the bed she brushed her hair, still humming softly.

While she was doing this, she realized that she had the house to basically herself. She could snoop around in the rooms that they hadn't let her go in before. Mainly Lily and Giuseppe rooms. Bonnie smiled and pulled the robe off, getting dressed in her pajamas before turning the stereo on so it seemed like she was still in the room.

She tip toed into the hallway, and looked around. Alice and Wayne were probably still in the library she realized.

Eying the hallway, she noticed the door across the way, and hurried over, turning at the handle.

"Yes, it's unlocked!" she whispered and opened it slowly.

By the looks of it, it looked like Giuseppe's office. It was boring, bland, and there were several black and white photo's of relatives.

Bonnie closed the door quietly, and stepped across the room. She ran her fingers along the book shelve, dust collecting on her finger tips.

"Well, he doesn't read. Note to self." she snickered.

She walked over, pulling his dark brown leather desk chair out from the desk and sat down. The area smelled like cologne and lots of printed paper.

Bonnie shifted some of the papers around, nothing was especially interesting. Mainly just emails printed out from business partners.

She grabbed his agenda and opened it.

"Meet, K.S at 9pm in Stranton." Bonnie read the notes for the day before.

"Hmm." she shrugged, uninterested and closed it, setting it back where it was.

"Okay, Giuseppe, lets find out more about you." Bonnie stuck her tongue out a bit while she was thinking.

She pulled at the drawers, two were empty, and one had files of birth certificates, business proposals.

"Uhuh." Bonnie mumbled when one was locked.

She reached up to feel in the damp mess that was her hair.

"Please.. please.." she whispered and found a bobby pin still lost in the back of her hair.

"Yes!" she smiled and bend it in the middle.

Bonnie stuck it in the large lock and pressed forward twisting, she did it again several times, until she heard a click.

She put her hand in a fist and pumped it backwards once in the air before pulling the drawer open.

"Check stubs, fiance." she whispered flipping through the dozens of files full of check stubs, copies of checks, and tax reports."

Bonnie pulled the drawer out further, noticing there was one stuck in the back, like it had been shoved there purposely.

She yanked it out, giving herself a paper cut and winced.

"Shit." she mumbled but set the file on the desk. Bonnie put her finger in her mouth while using her other hand to open the file.

All the papers were dated 13 years back, in 2002.

"Well, someone used to go to the Marriott Hotel on 4th a lot." she whispered looking at the copies of checks.

Bonnie was just flipping through not looking for anything specific, just having fun snooping through the mans things. Normally she wouldn't cross these kinds of boundaries... Actually, okay, no she would. It was Giuseppe. He was weird, secretive, kind of a dick. She wanted to know more about his life.

As she flipped through a few checks made out to restaurants, something caught her eye.

She pulled the check copy out from the others and blinked to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was.

In Bonnie's hand, was the copy of a $300,000 check, made out to Abigail Elise Bennett, dated June,11th 2002.

"W-what?" she swallowed, confused.

"Why would Giuseppe Salvatore be giving my mother a three hundred thousand dollar check?" Bonnie asked aloud.

As she stared at the check, she suddenly heard a click come from in front of her and noticed that she closed door was now open 2 inches. Bonnie saw the shadow of someone moving away from the door quickly.

Bonnie rushed to get the papers back in the file, shove the file back in the drawer and close the drawer. Bonnie stood up, hands shaking and pushed the chair back where it was and walked to the door opening it.

"Alice?" she called, but when she stepped out into the hallway, and closed the door behind her, she didn't see anyone.

Bonnie furrowed her brow and stepped over walking towards the stairs.

"Wayne?"

She swallowed, stepping over, standing at the top of the stairs, confused. Inhaling, she realized the door could have opened on it's own.

"Alice and Wayne are probably still in the library." Bonnie nodded, inhaling and putting a hand on her forehead.

However, just when she was about to turn around she felt two hands on her back for just a millisecond, and before she could blink, she was pushed down the stairs.

Bonnie gasped, her vision blurring as her head hit two of the stairs, she didn't have time to think, scream, understand what was happening as her body was battered.

As her head cracked against another stair, everything went black.

* * *

Please, please ** _leave a review_**! You can leave one as a guest, and even just "Great!" makes me happy :D


	13. State of Unrest

_**Chapter 13** \- State of Unrest _

Caroline could hardly breathe as she rushed into the hospital in her pajamas, barefoot, and without a coat. When she'd got the call from Mystic Falls General, telling her that they tried to call Bonnie's first emergency contact, her father and hadn't gotten an answer so they were calling her; as Caroline was her second contact. She had known something was wrong.

Bonnie hadn't called her when she got home, or even an hour after she got home, not even 2 hour after she got home.

So, when the doctors told Caroline that Bonnie was in the intensive care unit of the hospital after an assumed fall down the stairs, she had sprinted out of the door and into her car.

"I..." Caroline haled as she crashed into the front desk.

"I'm looking for Bonnie Salvatore." she said quickly gripping her car keys and phone tightly.

The woman at the front desk seemed startled by Caroline's wide, panicking eyes and messy hair but she just typed into the computer slowly.

"She's in room 509B, in the ICU." the woman said and motioned towards the elevators.

Caroline rushed to the elevators, her feet smacking against the floor and pressed the up button repeatedly until ti finally opened and she got in, pressing the fifth floor button until it closed and started upwards.

"Why the hell is the ICU on the fifth floor!" she huffed and was ready to crash through the doors when the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened.

When she walked out a nurse instantly looked at her, casually, a little confused.

"Who are you looking for?" the nurse asked, and Caroline swallowed.

"Bonnie, 509B." she breathed and the nurse started walking forward, leading her.

"I'll find her nurse, or doctor to explain to you what's going on." the nurse told her and Caroline stepped into the room tossing her things down onto a chair, and stepping over to the bed.

Bonnie was lying there, in a hospital gown, covered with a white blanket, and an oxygen mask over her face.

Caroline inhaled, "Oh thank god." she whispered, watching Bonnie's green eyes flicker over to her face.

Bonnie didn't feel right, she could see things, and hear everything, nod, move her hands. But she couldn't get the words out, of that something was wrong. She felt dizzy, her vision was a little blurry. But the second she saw Caroline's blonde hair she moved her hand around slowly trying to find her hand.

Caroline took her bruise covered hand, holding it gently and furrowing her brows.

"Bonnie it's okay, I'm here." she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

Bonnie nodded, trying to comprehend what her best friend was saying, she knew it was good, but at the same time, she was confused.

A tall male doctor walked in with a clip board and another female doctor and male nurse following closely behind him.

"Are you Caroline Forbes?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I'm Dr. Harrison." he reached a hand out and she shook it with her free hand.

"What's wrong with my friends?" Caroline asked, her heart aching in her chest.

The doctor moved his clip board to his side.

"Bonnie was found near the bottom of the stairs at her home, she had appears to have taken quiet a fall." he started, "We're currently suspecting Anoxic brain injury. Which is caused by lack of oxygen to brain due to trauma."

Caroline inhaled and looked over at Bonnie who was squeezing her hand.

"We have her on oxygen as well as medication to reduce any possible pressure on the brain. She seems relativity responsive, so we don't believe there was any significant brain cell death." Harrison continued.

The female doctor with her name tag, 'Cottrell' moved her slip board in front of her.

"We are however waiting on MRI scans to come back." she explained and Caroline nodded.

The two doctors walked out and the nurse stepped over to Caroline.

"I'm Jared." he started.

Caroline nodded and used her free hand to run through her hair.

"Is there anyone else we should call on Bonnie's behalf?" Jared asked.

"Y-yes. Her husband, she just got married." she explained, "Damon Salvatore."

Caroline rushed over to grab her phone, and clicked on Damon's contact, and handing her ringing pone to Nurse Jared.

Jared blinked holding the phone to his ear.

Caroline hoped for Damon's sake he was already back from London, and not still there or on the plane.

Thankfully Damon answered.

"Is this Damon Salvatore?" Jared asked and Caroline motioned Jared to put the phone on speaker.

Bonnie's eyelids fluttered as she tried to gather what was going on around her

"Yes." Damon said slowly, Caroline could hear the sound of Fairfax airport in the back ground and exhaled.

"This is Jared, a nurse at Mystic Falls General, Bonnie Salvatore is currently admitted in the ICU with a suspected Anoxic brain injury due to head trauma from falling down the stairs." the nurse said and Damon inhaled sharply

"W-what?" Damon asked, his heart stopped in his chest.

"Her father didn't answer the phone, you being her husband are the only other person who can grant clearance, in the situation that she needs surgery and for some reason is unstable to give permission." Jared explained, "Do you grant clearance, with an understanding that something could go wrong during surgery?"

"Yes, I .. I grant clearance. I will be there as soon as possible." he replied, his voice shaky.

"Your wife is in room 509B, on the fifth floor ICU." Jared told Damon and the phone hung up.

Jared handed Caroline her phone back and the blond looked more than frightened.

"Please, call for me if something happens." he told her.

"Of course." she nodded and turned her attention back to Bonnie.

"D-Damon." Bonnie whispered, eyes scanning her best friends face and Caroline watched her brows furrow.

Caroline pulled the chair over so she could sit, and held Bonnie's hand with both of hers.

"He's coming, it's alright."

Ten minutes later, when Damon rushed into the ICU, he had came straight from the airport, leaving his luggage in the car.

Caroline stood up when Damon walked in, by passing the nurse that had questioned him.

"Thank God, you're here." she said and rushed over, throwing her arms around the man, not caring that she barely knew him.

Damon gave Caroline a hard squeeze, but his mind was on Bonnie, and he let go of her, walking over to her bed.

"Where's the doctor?" he asked, with a frustrated look on his face.

Rather, the nurse Jared walked in several seconds later.

"Good you're here." he said slowly and extended a clip board with papers on it to Damon.

Damon startled both Caroline and Jared by reaching out, and hitting the clip board away so hard that it flew out of the nurses hand and to the floor.

"My wife is injured. Can you have the common decency not to shove papers in my face the second I get here?" he said teeth gritted and Jared swallowed, picking up the clipboard and setting it gently on the end of Bonnie's bed before stepping out of the room.

Caroline stood along the end of the bed with her arms folded.

Damon sat down in the chair she had been and and grabbed Bonnie's hand.

Bonnie inhaled, opening her eyes, trying to focus on who was in front of her and she saw the black of Damon's hair, the blue of his eyes.

A small smile turned up at her lips and Damon swallowed.

"You're going to be okay." he whispered and his eyes scanned along her forehead that had several stitches, down to her bruised arms.

"They said she has an Anoxic injury?" Damon asked, his eyes looking into Bonnie's.

"Yes, I guess, I don't really understand." Caroline replied.

He held her hand with his other and Caroline watched as worry crossed over his face.

Doctor Harrison walked in after another minute and Damon looked over.

"Explain to me what you _think_ is wrong with my wife." Damon said, and Caroline paid special attention to the way Damon used the word 'think' as though the doctors didn't know what they were doing.

"An Anoxic injury, due to loss of oxygen to the brain. She should be fine, given no swelling starts." Harrison explained and Damon swallowed.

"How do you know no swelling has started?" he asked, "Have you even done an MRI?" He asked, standing up from Bonnie's bedside.

"We're waiting on it." the doctor replied.

Damon looked down at Bonnie, something wasn't right. If she had been in the hospital for an hour at the least, she should have been doing better. With the oxygen and the medication to prevent swelling.

"It could be a subderal hematoma, if you don't get the MRI's now, she could be permanently impaired!"he said quickly and the doctor seemed startled.

"I'll go check on it now." Dr. Harrison hurried out of the room.

Caroline was confused, "What's going on?" she asked.

Damon looked back down at Bonnie who felt like she was floating.

"Something's not right." he whispered, and she stepped over to him.

"She's confused, look at her. Her eyelids they're fluttering, she's eying us like she can't focus. If it was just a Anoxic injury, she should be able to speak, comprehend what's going on by now." Damon swallowed.

Bonnie inhaled, her fingers twitching a little as she tried to reach Damon's hand.

Damon grabbed her hand, and his blue eyes bore into her distant green ones.

"What's a subderal hematoma?" Caroline asked him.

He inhaled, using his free hand to wipe at his forehead.

"It's.." he swallowed, "an injury between the dura and the surface of the brain. There's acute, subacute and chronic. Bonnie could have a subderal hematoma and no one would notice at first, but over time blood slowly collects within the skull, and compresses the brain, increasing the intracranial pressure."

"An acute subderal requires immediate surgery, similar to epidural hematoma, or it could lead to coma and or permanent impatient." Damon finished, watching as Bonnie's eyes seemed to get more and more clouded.

Caroline looked at him slowly, "How do you know all this?" she asked, forehead crinkling.

Damon stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's complicated." he replied.

Suddenly Bonnie's hand let go of Damon's and when he looked over she was seizing.

"Bonnie!" He inhaled and Caroline ran out into the hall to call for someone.

Damon watched as Bonnie seized trying to keep her from hitting her head against the metal barring of the bed.

Her heart monitor was everywhere, and his own heart was pounding.

Before Caroline could call for anyone, Dr. Cottrell came rushing in with two different nurses and she had the MRI scans in her hands.

"The MRI's show she's suffering from Epidural Hematoma, we need to stabilize her and get her into emergency surgery."

Damon was shoved away from Bonnie's bedside.

"Son of a bitch!" he inhaled.

Jared rushed in, "We need you to sign these." he shoved the papers back in Damon's face and he ripped them away from him, signing every possible line, whether or not he needed to.

"Just get her into surgery!" Damon shoved the clip board back at the nurse.

The doctors struggled to stabilize Bonnie but once they did, her bed was quickly rolled out of the room and Damon didn't even have time to look at her face one last time.

When Caroline was able to step back into the room, she had tears soaking her face and Damon was near tears himself, but he mostly had an angry look in his eyes.

"She's been here." he inhaled sharply, "Over an hour, bleeding internally, just laying there." his hands hook as he spoke, "Probably feeling herself dying, and they just stuck a oxygen mask on her, and gave her medication that's absolutely useless in her condition."

Caroline stepped over to touch Damon but he pulled away and pulled his phone from his pocket quickly.

Damon stepped over to the window of the room, leaning against the wall and tapping along his contacts.

He rung Rudy's number hoping to God the man would answer.

Finally after two more times, Rudy answered.

"What's going on?" he asked confused.

"Did you not get the hospitals voice mails?" Damon asked, clearly upset.

"I didn't, I've been in a show all night." Rudy replied.

"Bonnie's in the hospital, she apparently fell down the stairs." he told the man.

"What, is she okay?" her father asked.

Damon cleared his throat, "No, she isn't. They just took her in for emergency surgery. I really think you should be here."

"Yes, of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." Rudy promised.

"Where waiting in room 509B." he told him, and hung up the phone.

Caroline sat down in a chair, putting her face in her hands.

"I can't believe this is happening." she inhaled, her tears dripping through her fingers, onto the floor.

Damon practically stormed out of the room and over to the desk in the middle of the ICU.

The nurse on her cellphone, but he grabbed it and took it from her, setting it down away from her.

"Excuse me?" the nurse looked up at him.

"My wife, Bonnie Salvatore is in emergency surgery right now. After her surgery I want her transferred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota." Damon told the woman.

"Wait what?" she asked, just staring at him.

"I want, my wife to be transferred to the Mayo Clinic, after her surgery." her repeated with a little more intensity.

"I don't care if it takes a helicopter, I will pay for it." Damon told her and she nodded, before starting to type on the computer.

After it was set up for Bonnie to be transferred he walked back into the room and held up his phone again.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, wiping at her face.

Damon pressed his contact, "Calling my attorney." he replied, before holding the phone to his face.

* * *

 **3 Weeks Later**

 _Rochester MN_

The heart monitor beeped in the background, at this point it was a sound that had blended in with everything else and Damon had become used to it.

He sighed, his eyes on the clock across the room.

2:01 AM.

Damon looked down from the clock and back at Bonnie who was lying on her back, her face peaceful, blank, even with the oxygen hose along the bottom of her nose.

He reached over and slowly brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, it was soft, curly, since the nurses had bathing her, washing her hair as best as they could without being able to take her from the bed.  
Three weeks.

Bonnie had been in a coma for exactly three weeks.

Damon's facial hair was two weeks neglected, and he hadn't eaten or drank anything besides bourbon that day. He didn't want to sleep, or move. He was afraid something would go wrong with Bonnie when he wasn't there to help.

"Bonnie." he said slowly, hoping she could hear him, even just a little.

He scooted his chair closed and placed his hand along the top of her chest, feeling her heart beat.

"Please come back to me." Damon whispered, his eyes red, tired, but still a few stinging tears dripped from them.

Caressing her hand with his other hand, he inhaled slowly, feeling the nutritional IV that was stuck into her vein in order to keep her from losing too much weight while in the coma.

"I need you to wake up." his voice cracked, and he leaned his chin down, pressing it against the bar.

Damon looked to the side behind his shoulder a little after a second. Rudy was there, sitting in a chair, sleeping. He'd fallen asleep an hour before, after he was unable to convince Damon to take a nap.

Damon had known something wasn't right with Bonnie several weeks before and he had been right. Now, she was in a coma, and all they could do was wait for her to wake up; hope that her brain, nervous system wasn't damaged in an irreversible way.

The ICU unit of the Mayo Clinic was by far better than Mystic Falls General, but it was a never ending swirl of emergencies, even in the coma wing. People were dying, and getting worse every day. But, the hardest thing for Damon to watch, was people waking up from comas, people healing, people going home with their families. While Bonnie was stagnate in her condition.

"I went and got some air fresheners, that smell like hazelnut, because I know that's your favorite, and they wouldn't let me bring in candles." he conversed with her after looking away from her father.

"So, if you're wondering why the whole room smells like a Starbucks, that's why." Damon's lips turned up at the edges a little, but his eyes were sad.

He looked over at the pile of books he'd brought with him from Mystic Falls.

"You're probably getting tired of me reading to you huh?" he asked, looking back at her, "Too bad."

Bonnie's bruises were still there, they were a lighter purple, but they were far from healed. Her stitches on her forehead, and behind her head had been taken out already, and the scar was fading.

"You're still awake?" Enzo's voice came from the left and Damon looked over to see his best friend standing in the door way.

"Yeah." was all he said and Enzo stepped into the room.

"I have to warn you, your parents finally showed up. I saw them walking in the parking lot." Enzo said and Damon blinked.

He stood up from the chair, "If they think they're getting in here after three weeks of nothing, they're sourly mistaken." Damon replied and walked out of the door.

Enzo stepped furhter in the room as Damon walked out and stoof a few feet from the door, looking around.

He was dress in jeans, and a plain blue t-shirt, his black hair a messy, kind of greasy.

Inhaling, he was startled when Caroline was suddenly to the right of him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." she said slowly, holding several bags of chips in her hands.

Damon shook his head, "It's fine."

"You need to get some rest. You look like you're about to pass out." Caroline gave him a disapproving look.

He didn't response, so Caroline just walked back in the room, sitting down in a chair beside sleeping Rudy.

Damon turned around a little, rubbing a hand along his face and his slight beard.

His eyes flickered over to Enzo who was sitting in the chair he had been in, looking at Bonnie. Damon watched Enzo put a hand over Bonnie's and he was saying something, but he wasn't exactly a lip reader. His eyes were sad, just like everyone else, and Damon had to look away because it was too heart breaking to watch someone else do the very thing he'd been doing.

Damon pulled his flask out of his jeans pocket, hoping no one was looking and took a swig from it, before shoving it back.

"Damon." Giuseppe's voice came from behind him, and his hair stood up on the back of his neck.

He turned around and didn't waste a single second turning around and walking over to his mother and father.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon asked, speaking mostly to his father.

"We came here to see how Bonnie's doing." Giuseppe replied, but his face was expressionless.

"It's been three weeks, and you called once, this is the first time you've come to visit." he said clenching his jaw.

'But, we're here aren't we?" he replied and tried to move past Damon.

Damon placed a hand on his fathers shoulder, shoving him backwards, and Lily gasped.

"You are not going near her." Damon said through his teeth.

"Why not? She's our daughter in law." Giuseppe asked.

Damon took his hand off his father, "Because I don't trust you. Bonnie told me you threatened her, you know that."

"Your father apologized." Lily insisted.

"No, you apologized for him." he snapped at her, and she took a step back.

"I don't trust you, or believe a single thing you say. I don't believe she fell down those stairs" Damon said with an accusing tone.

Giuseppe stepped closer, "Are you accusing me of trying to hurt her?" he asked and Damon shoved his father back from him again, and his father quickly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't touch me!" Damon growled and ripped himself away from Giuseppe.

Enzo rushed out into the hallway, pulling Damon back from his father before he did something he'd regret.

"These two are not allowed in that room." Damon told the nurse who was standing near them, and she blinked, walking over to whisper to Nurse Cassie who was Bonnie's nurse.

Enzo pulled Damon several feet away from them.

"Have you been drinking?" he asked, but the answer was obvious by the smell of the man.

Enzo shook his head, disappointed, but it wasn't like he didn't understand.

"Come on, we're getting you some decaf, and then going to the hotel room. You need sleep." Enzo grabbed Damon's arm.

"Fine." Damon sighed and let his friend drag him out of the ICU.

Lily swallowed, looking over at Giuseppe once their son disappeared.

"Excuse me, but Damon doesn't want you in Bonnie's room, so I'm going to have to as you to leave unless you have someone else to visit." Nurse Cassie told them.

"We will." Lily said to her and waved her away.

"How could my own son think I pushed his wife down the stairs?" Giuseppe asked in a hushed my angry voice.

Lily looked at him, "I don't know, I'm sure he didn't mean it." she said, trying to assure him and put her hand on his wrist.

Giuseppe clenched his jaw, glaring across the unit at the closed door Damon had waked out of.

"You weren't even at the house, you were at meeting." she said queitly.

Giuseppe suddenly looked over at her, "Are you saying I would hurt her?" he asked, and grabbed her wrist.

Lily blinked, "N-no." she said quickly.

His hand squeezed her wrist painfully, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide, frightened.

"What are you saying?" Giuseppe asked, squeezing even harder until her hand was turning red.

"I-I, that you've never hurt her, or want too." Lily breathed, and he let go of her wrist in a quick tossing motion.

"That's what I thought."

Giuseppe turned, put a hand on her lower back, "Start walking, we're leaving." he shoved her forward.

Down in the cafeteria, Damon was sitting beside Enzo, drinking the last half of the coffee he'd gotten.

"You need to get a hold of yourself." Enzo said, and Damon just stared at the table.

"You can't fight in the middle of the coma wing." he said sipping at his own coffee.

Enzo sighed, "You can't just drink everything anyway."

Damon swallowed the coffee in his mouth and looked over at his friend.

"Don't tell me how to cope." he said in a rough tone.

"I'm not." Enzo insisted, watching as Damon shoved his empty cup away from him.

"She'll wake up." he said slowly grabbing the empty cup and standing.

Damon looked away, "I know she will."

After throwing the cups away, Enzo walked Damon outside through the parking lot in the dim lights to his car.

"Stefan still at the room?" Damon asked as they drove down the road.

"Yeah, he was a with you all week. He needed sleep, just like you do." he reminded him.

Damon looked out the window, not sure how to feel other than worried, and kind of numb.

"I don't care about sleeping." he admitted and Enzo furrowed his brow.

"You need too. You know Bonnie would want you to take care of yourself."

He swallowed, "You don't know what she would want."

Enzo shook his head, "She cares about you, I care about you. So, yes I do know."

Damon looked at him, tiredly.

Damon, Enzo, and Stefan had been sharing a hotel room the last few weeks, Caroline had her own and Rudy as well.

"I'm letting you take me to the hotel, so please, just, stop talking." said, putting a hand on his face.

* * *

Damon had thankfully been able to sleep a solid eight hours, and as he dragged himself to the shower at 11am he had a headache, one that had been with him the past three weeks.

He grabbed his flask from his previous pair of jeans to find it had been emptied.

"Damnit, Enzo." he whispered, and searched one of his bags, finding a half full bottle of bourbon. Pulling the lid off, he took two solid swallows, closed it and tossed it on his bed.

"Being sober sure didn't last long." Damon said to himself, he noticed Stefan nor Enzo were in the room.

He had remained sober for the first three days Bonnie was in the coma. On the fourth day, he had his first drink, on the fifth, he had two, and by the time day 12 rolled around, he was averaging half a bottle a day. It was the only way Damon could cope, or it was the only way he knew how to. Without it, he felt like he was going to fall apart.

Grabbed new clothing and shuffled into the bathroom. The shower was quick, hot and he scrubbed through his hair, over his body quickly with an all in one soap.

After getting out, he dried off, didn't bother combing his hair and got dressed.

"Damon, you there?" Stefan's voice said, and he opened the bathroom door, stepping out.

"Yeah." he replied, and looked at his brother who was standing near the opened room door.

"I'm about to go to the hospital, you want to ride with me?" he asked, seeing that his brother had already started drinking that morning, when he saw the bottle on the bed.

"Sure." Damon said slowly, and as he finished fastening his belt buckle, he stared at the  
bottle on the bed before grabbing it and getting one more drink out of it before tossing it back down.

Stefan jingled his keys and lead Damon out of the door and to his car.

"Why are you torturing yourself?" Stefan asked his brother as they drove down the road.

Damon sighed and looked over at him, "What?" he asked.

"Drinking, it's not going to solve anything. You just smell like a fifty year old alcoholic..." he told him,

"Well, I'm not fifty, and I'm not an alcoholic." Damon insisted.

Stefan nodded, "Alright..." he didn't want to upset his brother any further. The last thing he needed was to piss Damon off and the next thing Damon was pouring bourbon down every possible tube to his stomach.

A bit later, Stefan walked beside Damon into the ICU and when they got into Bonnie's room, Caroline was there just looking at Bonnie, and Rudy was awake as well.

"Hey, you finally got some sleep." Rudy said as he noticed Damon showered, and not looking quite so disheveled.

"Fortunately" Damon replied and Rudy nodded slowly.

"There's been no change." Caroline told them, which wasn't a surprise.

Damon stepped over and sat beside Caroline, holding Bonnie's other hand and sighed.

"They came in to check her vitals a few hours ago but everything was the same." she told him.

"As expected." he shook his head.

Rudy frowned, "I know she'll be alright, she'd strong."

Stefan smiled a little at Bonnie's father. "Yeah, she'll pull through."

The doctor that had been caring and checking on Bonnie the last few weeks walked in slowly.

"I just wanted to see how everything is going with you guys." Dr. Fell said, looking around at them.

"We're coping. Trying to make sure everyone take's care of themselves." Caroline assured her.

The doctor nodded, "Remember, you can always talk to a counselor, or nurse if you need to. If you ever feel suicidal, or unwell, don't hesitate to ask for help." she said softly, placing her hands in front of her.

Enzo looked at her from across the room where he had been for a few hours, and they all nodded.

"Can you tell us anything more on her state?" Rudy asked, standing up from the chair.

Dr. Fell inhaled, "Well, there isn't much. She's no longer suffering any swelling, bleeding or pressure. As you know we have determined her coma, is Bonnie's bodies coping response to the trauma. It goes into a 'protective-mode', for sake of a better word, as this is the best way to keep the swelling and pressure from starting again. Sometimes, the body will prolong a coma even when the swelling,and pressure is not relevant, because it is in shock." she explained.

"You could compare it to, the way someone who breaks their leg, might be so afraid of walking again, that they are unable to. Bonnie's brain thinks it's protecting her." she continued and Damon swallowed hard.

"But, trying to wake her isn't possible?" Stefan asked, curious.

"No it isn't." Dr. Fell frowned.

"However, we believe when she wakes up, she should have no significant impairment. She may have temporary confusion, minor memory loss, and she may need a little help with walking, doing every day things for the first few days to a few weeks after coming out of the coma." she assured them.

Enzo pursed his lips, "You do believe she will wake up, though?"

She nodded, "Yes. There's nothing to make us think that she won't."

Everyone nodded.

Dr. Fell turned and left the room and Damon raked his fingers through his hair, clearly distressed.

Rudy stepped over to him.

"Why don't we go get something to eat downstairs?" he asked Damon, who blinked and looked back at him.

"Alright, I need to call the attorney and check on the case anyway." Damon responded, and gave Bonnie one last look before walking out of the room with Rudy.

They walked along the hallway, Damon shoved his hands in his pockets.

"It'll be alright, you know." Rudy said looking over at him.

Damon nodded, "Everyone keeps telling me that."

"Because it's true." he insisted and patted Damon's back.

"How do you.. even.. remain so composed?" Damon asked, looking at the man who looked tired, but hadn't lost any amount of glimmer in his eyes.

"I pray. I ask God every single morning, and every single night, to keep my baby girl safe." Rudy started, "And I remember that losing hope, isn't going to bring her back."

Damon licked at his lips, "Well, you're stronger than me." he sighed and looked at the floor as they walked.

Rudy shook his head, "No, we just all have ways of dealing with things."

He looked over at his father in law and nodded as they headed for an elevator.

Stefan took a seat next to Caroline in the room, looking over at the blond woman.

"How are you doing?" he asked, and she looked over at him, her hair pulled into a pony tail.

"The same. Missing my best friend." she whispered and rested her chin in her hand.

"Bonnie's great." Stefan said queitly, "I obviously don't know her like you, but she was always smiling, or sticking up for herself."

Caroline smiled a little, "She is, not was."

Enzo looked at them from the across the room, "She lit up every room, that's for sure." he added to the conversation.

Caroline looked over at him, and nodded.

"Bonnie still lights up every room, that hasn't changed." she said slowly eyed her face.

"There is no was, or did. Because she's still here. As long as she's still here, she's still Bonnie." Caroline reached over, touching Bonnie's hand.

"She's still bright, she's still my best friend." her eyes got a little wet.

Stefan swallowed, "You're right. No more, 'she was' only 'she is." he agreed.

Enzo's lips turned up at the edges, "She is." he repeated.

Caroline looked over at Stefan and chuckled, tears slowly dripping from her eyes.

"Hey, come here." Stefan furrowed his brow, Caroline waved it off, but he pulled her chair closed to him and wrapped arm behind her shoulders.

Caroline tilted her head, resting it against his shoulder.

"Why isn't your boyfriend.. ah, Matt here?" Enzo asked, curiously eying Stefan and Caroline.

Caroline sighed, "I don't want to talk about him."

Enzo shrugged and leaned his head back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes.

"She is okay." she whispered, just looking at Bonnie, and Stefan rubbed her shoulder slowly.

"I'm sure she is." a voice came from the left of them and Caroline turned her head.

Standing in the doorway was a tall, brown haired, man that she hadn't seen in over a year.

Caroline stood up from her seat.

"Kai?"

* * *

Please _ **Leave A Review**_! :D


	14. Not an Accident

**A/N:** I don't normally update so quick, but I'm very excited!

 _This chapter is dedicated to:_ writeturnlove who apparently is dealing with a snow storm. This is for you hun!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 14** \- Not an Accident _

Caroline folded her arms over her chest, stepping a little closer to the man.

"Kai, I.." she blinked, "I wasn't expecting to see you."

Stefan and Enzo both looked over towards Kai confused.

The man took a step into the room, wearing a black winter coat.

Caroline stepped over to him and kept him from coming in the room.

"Can we talk?" she asked, "In the hallway." she specified.

Kai looked over her should at Bonnie, then back at her, and nodded.

The two of them moved out into the hallway, several feet away from the door.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, her forehead creasing.

"I heard about Bonnie." he explained, his trey blue eyes scanning her face.

She exhaled, "How?"

She was confused, she certainly hadn't told anyone except Matt, and her own mother that Bonnie was in a coma, much less given someone the hospital, and room number.

"Kate told me." Kai said slowly, and Caroline blinked.

"Of course. Rudy had her call anyone she thought should know." she sighed, shaking her head.

Kai pulled the black gloves from his hand and shoved them in the pockets of his coat.

"When did you get out of jail?" Caroline asked, quietly, keeping a careful distance from him.

He pursed his lips, "About two months ago."

"Why are you here? I don't think it's a good idea." she said with a sigh.

Kai furrowed his brow, "I heard Bonnie was in a coma. What did you expect me to do?" he asked.

"Well, I sure as hell didn't expect you to show up here." Caroline unfolded her arms.

"I can leave if that's a problem." he told her, "But, I loved her. I think I deserve to see her."

She sighed, and looked to the side a little at the door.

"What you did..." Caroline started, "...broke her heart."

Kai swallowed, "She broke my heart too you know.

Caroline scoffed, "You were in prison, Kai. You couldn't just expect her to stay by your side, have a boyfriend she could only see on the other side of glass window."

He shook his head, "Okay, you know what. You're right." his eyes glimmered a little as he looked down at her.

"But I am not that man anymore." Kai insisted.

And, he did look different.

His shoulders were broader, he looked stronger, the shape of his face was sharper, more mature. Kai also had stubble, when the last time she saw him, he was clean shaven. His eyes were sad, and regretful.

"I'll let you in, to see her, but I can't promise you, that you will be able to visit her again." Caroline said slowly.

"Because of her husband?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I don't think Damon knows about you. But, once he does, I doubt he's going to be as understanding as me." she swallowed.

Kai looked at the floor for a moment, "I saw them on the news..." he started, "I'll just have to take my chances."

He looked back up and moved past her, into Bonnie's room.

Enzo watched the man he had no idea was, walk over and sit beside Bonnie's bed.

Kai furrowed his brow and reached over touching her hand with the tips of her fingers.

The last time he had seen Bonnie, was 14 months before. The few days before he made the biggest mistake of his life. He'd never been the best person, the best son. Growing up in a family who paid attention only to their kids who were in high paying positions, or who they thought would be successful, made you feel left out, unwanted. Kai had gotten into a lot of fights as a teenager, but somehow graduated and got the hell out of Oregon.

"Hey." he said quietly, just looking at her face.

14 months before, he had been with Bonnie for a year and two days. He remembered exactly. In fact, that was one of his quirks, remembering aosbulotely everything. Kai could remember the exact day they met, May 10th, 2013. The exact day they started dating, October 9th 2013. And the weather on each of those days.

"The last time I saw you, you were wearing a yellow dress." Kai said and both Stefan and Enzo gave him a weird, confused look.

Kai could also remember the day he screwed himself over.

October 11th, 2014.

He had snapped, after a argument with his father. Kai had thought his problems he left behind in Oregon were gone, but sadly, when his siblings showed up at the same school as Bonnie, Whitmore, there had been some complications.

His father, and 3 innocent by standers were involved.

Kai was given one year in Virginia State on assault and battery charges.

Enzo stood from his seat and stepped over.

"So, who are you?" he asked, not liking the way this random guy was touching his best friends wifes hand.

"I'm Kai." he cleared his throat and stood up, feeling the tension in the room.

Enzo folded his arms over his chest as Caroline stepped back into the room with a candy bar from the vending machine.

"That doesn't really answer my question." Enzo said slowly.

Caroline set her snack down on the counter across the room and stepped over.

"He's Bonnie's ex." she explained, and Enzo blinked.

"Oh." he cleared his throat.

"I know she's married, don't worry." Kai assured him but Enzo still didn't seem too comfortable.

Caroline turned her head to see Damon turning to walk back into the room, and she hurried over.

"Oh." Damon said when his eyes found Kai, they went all the way from his head, to his feet and back up.

"This is Kai." she said quickly, just to get that out of the way.

Kai looked over at Damon and Damon just looked at him.

"Uh." Stefan stretched at his head awkwardly.

Caroline pulled Damon out into the hallway so she could talk to him before someone else did.

"Do you want to tell me who that guy is and what's going on?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah." she cleared her throat, "Where's Rudy?" she questioned first.

"He's on the phone with one of his band mates." Damon explained with a sigh and waved that off, just wanting to know what was going on.

Caroline looked to the side for a second then back at him.

"Alright, so, Kai is Bonnie's ex boyfriend." she told him and he reached up scratching behind his ear.

"Okay, she.. she never mentioned anything about an ex named Kai, did they end badly?" he asked, confused.

"Badly is a understatement." Caroline shook her head.

"He was arrested over a year ago on battery charges, he got into a fight with his father and three surrounding people." she whispered, and his eyes widened.

"Kai was charges for a year to three years, but I guess he got out two months ago." she continued.

"What the hell is he doing here then?" Damon asked, his hands moving into loose fists.

"He wanted to see her. I know I probably should've waited until you got up here. But, he hadn't seen her since they broke up the day they were arrested." Caroline folded her arms.

Damon swallowed, "I don't think he should be in there." he said looking towards the door opening.

"Do whatever you think is best." she suggested and he moved past her walking back into the room.

"Kai, a word?" Damon asked looking at the man and he nodded stepping over.

Kai was just half an inch shorter than Damon, and they were eye to eye.

"I don't think you should be here." he said slowly, and Kai pursed his lips.

"I take it Caroline told you about my past." Kai sighed.

Damon nodded, "Yes, I'm sure there is more to the story but, I don't know if Bonnie would want you here. So I don't want you here, until she's awake and able to decide for her self whether or not she wants you in the same room as her." he said bluntly.

Kai chuckled, "Ouch. So, while she's in a coma you get to make the decisions for her... Got it." he cleared his throat.

"I'm her husband." Damon crossed his arms over his chest, "I get to make decisions about my wife."

Damon had never felt this level of possiveness with anyone, and him and Bonnie hadn't even been married by choice. But, to hell if he wasn't feeling his heart break in his chest every time he looked at Bonnie and just waited for her to wake up.

So some random ass guy from her past wasn't allowed to just walk in, and expect to be welcomed.  
Not after Damon spent 3 weeks by her side, not after Damon spent day and night with her when he could.

"Fine." Kai said but didn't move.

The room was quiet, all eyes on them.

"I don't know how long you were with her, but I'm with her now. If you want to see her, talk about her, look at her. You ask me." Damon said to him.

Kai shifted, "And you'll what? Make her decisions for her, exactly." he asked with a small, amused smile.

Damon stepped closer, inches away from their noses touching.

"No. You ask me, and I'll ask her when she wakes up. Until then, get out."

"Alright..." Kai inhaled and stepped back, putting his hand out to shake Damon's.

"I'll respect your choice, if you promise to talk to her about it. I only want to make sure she's alright." he continued.

Damon looked at the mans hand hesitatingly, and then shook it before putting his hand down at his side.

Kai gave Caroline, and Bonnie once last quick glance before walking out of the room.

Damon sighed stepping over to the bed and reaching down to touch Bonnie's face.

"I hope you wake up soon." he whispered, running his fingers along her cheek, furrowing his brow.

"Lily." Caroline said just as she was about to sit down.

Damon turned to face his mother, expecting his father to be standing there as well and his frustration quickly turned to the edges of his skin. However, Lily was the only one standing there, with her red hair hanging straight at her shoulders.

"Can we talk?" she asked, her eyes that he had inherited, looked into his face.

"Excuse me, but y-" Nurse Cassie started as she stepped over in the hallway.

Damon walked over interrupting her, "It's alright." he said, and she nodded, walking away.

"Let's talk." he said and Lily moved out of his way so he could walk out of the room.

The two of them started walking side by side down the hallway, with no particular place in mind. Just wandering the halls.

"Is there something specific you want to talk about?" Damon asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Lily folded her arms across her blue sweater.

"I wanted to apologize for your father, earlier." she said slowly and he shook his head.

"That's the problem, mother, you're always apologizing for him." he looked away at one of the walls as they walked.

Lily sighed, "I know... But, Damon I want you to know that while I don't particularly like Bonnie, I do hope that she will be okay." she looked up at her son as he looked away from her. Just like he had been doing for so many years.

When was the last time he looked at her like he cared? Like, he even saw her as his mother? Lily couldn't remember. However, she couldn't blame him for his lack of care for her.

"Really?" Damon asked, kind of sarcastically, and she furrowed her brow.

"Damon, I'm serious. I care about you, your happiness." she replied and he looked away from the wall but still not at her.

"Are you sure?" he questioned, "Because I can't remember the last time you told me you love me, and meant it. I can't remember the last time you looked at me like you were proud of me. Hell, mother I can't even remember when you last looked at me like I'm even your son."

Lily inhaled and tried to touch his arm but he pulled away from her.

"I love you. I've loved you since you were born." she assured him.

Have you? Because lately, for a few years actually, you walk around putting your nose up to every one, even Stefan, even me." Damon shook his head.

Lily swallowed, "I can't take back the things I've said, or done. I know I'm not the kindest person." she started, "But, I'm trying to make at least one relationship in my life better."

Damon stopped walking and leaned against the wall behind him, listening.

Lily turned to face him.

"I know you've probably been hurting the last three weeks. I'm sorry, that you're going through this." she said quietly.

"Why are you sorry now, why the sudden repentance, the wanting to tell me you love me?" Damon asked, looking down at her.

She inhaled, "I don't believe Bonnie fell down the stairs either." she admitted, and he scanned her face, trying to read if she was being serious.

"You don't?" he pulled his hands from his pockets.

Lily shook her head, "No. You don't sustain that big of a head injury from falling on your own, even slipping."

Damon nodded, "That's what I was thinking. Her injuries suggest a little more force, like she was pushed."

"Yes. And while Alice and Wayne were suspiciously the only two in the house, I don't think it was either of them." she explained.

Damon blinked, "Wait a second..." he paused, "You don't trust father either." he said slowly.

Lily brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

"No. I don't. The way he acted when you accused him, it made me realize that he is possible of hurting Bonnie." she told him.

"What did he do?" he asked her.

"It's not important." Lily replied.

Damon exhaled, "It kind of is." he watched his mother gently put her hand over one of her wrists.

"I just think he could do it." she insisted and Damon reached down quickly grabbing his mothers hand and pushing the sleeve of her sweater up some.

He eyed the purple bruise all around her wrist.

Lily pulled her hand away quickly and pushed her sleeve back down.

"Did he do that to you?" Damon asked, furrowing his brow.

"Yes." she swallowed, looking to the side of them for a second.

"Has he done that before?" he asked, but she didn't reply, just looked away from him.

Damon clenched his jaw, "Has he done that to you before?"

Lily refolded her arms, "It was an accident."

"It was not an accident. How long has he been hurting you?" he asked, and watched as his mothers eyes grew a little wet.

"Mother, look at me." he said, "Please."

Lily inhaled and looked at him, "Since before you or your brother were born." she told him, "It stopped for a while, but then, I don't know it started again."

Damon swallowed hard, "He can't just do that to you."

"I upset him, I shouldn't.. I know I'm not supposed to upset him." she said quickly, not wanting to make it a big deal.

"He has no right to hurt you, whether or not you upset him." he inhaled, putting a hand on his head.

How hadn't he noticed any of this before? Was his mother that good at hiding the abuse he endured? No, it was Giuseppe. He had trained Damon's mother to the point that she was used to it.

Lily inhaled, "I don't want to talk about it. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry about Bonnie and express my worry that Giuseppe could have... you know." she spoke.

Damon inhaled, trying to get his thoughts in line.

"We don't have proof, we won't have anything until she wakes up and hopefully she remembers whether or not she was pushed." Lily continued.

"Mother, you realize if Giuseppe finds out you suspect him, he could very well try and accuse you. Neither of you have been likable, when it comes to Bonnie." he reminded her.

Lily nodded, "I know. That's why we can't say, or do anything until Bonnie wakes up."

Damon sighed, "I don't... You can't just go leave with him."

"You never cared about how he talked, or treated me before. What does it matter now?" she asked, giving him a sad look.

"I didn't know before. If I had.. I would've done something." he insisted.

"What? What are you going to do? There isn't anything." Lily furrowed her brow.

"There are people who can help, you don't have to deal with him." Damon told her but she should her head.

"No, it's better if you just pretend you don't know about it." she sighed.

Damon shook his head, "That's not possible."

Lily just turned and started walking down the hall and he raked his fingers through his hair, following beside her.

"I know that you're still putting together a case against Mystic Falls General." she said, changing the subject.

He nodded slowly, "Yes. When Bonnie wakes up, she will hopefully remember enough to give some important information on what happened while she was there."

Lily looked over at him, listening.

"Something needs to be done. They neglected the standard procedures that could have prevented Bonnie's coma. She sat there with a epidural hematoma for an hour." Damon ran his hand over his face and they stopped walking again.

"Well, if you need any help. Let me know." she said slowly.

"The same offer stands for you, mother. What he's doing is wrong." he reaching a hand out and touched her arm, and for the first time in forever, they actually felt like family.

Lily nodded, "I want to see Bonnie when she wakes up. If she is okay with it, please let me know."

Damon nodded, "I will."

He watched Lily walk away from him and shook his head.

"This is a mess." he whispered, and reached for his flask when he remembered he'd left it at home empty.

His hands were shaky again as he was fining for a drink.

"Shit." Damon sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.

* * *

Caroline sat at Bonnie's bedside with Rudy as Stefan and Enzo went to get coffee. That seemed to be the caffeinated beverage of choice lately. If they weren't drinking coffee, they were half asleep in the hospital room or hotel room as they tried to find something productive to do.

"When you wake up, we definitely need to get you a hair cut." she whispered touching Bonnie's hair and Rudy chuckled.

"Nothing serious, just a trim." Caroline added, "Maybe some bangs."

"You're a good friend to her." Rudy said slowly watching the blond talk to his daughter.

Caroline looked over at him, "She's always been a good friend to me." she replied before looking back at Bonnie running her fingers along her hands.

"Bonnie is a wonderful woman. I'm always surprised at her growth." Rudy told her, his hands on the metal bar.

"You raised her." Caroline smiled a little.

Suddenly Caroline felt something along her hand and when she looked it happened again. Bonnie's fingers had moved.

"Oh my god." she went completely still and just stared at Bonnie.

"What?" Rudy asked confused.

"Bonnie's fingers moved." Caroline said and inhaled, "Oh my god her fingers moved."

She shot up from the chair and rushed out of the door.

"C-Cassie!" she called trying to find the nurse.

The light haired woman came walking over.

"What is it?" Nurse Cassie asked.

"Bonnie's fingers moved." Caroline said her heart beating fast in her chest.

The nurse moved past her and into the room standing in front of the bed and looking at Bonnie who looked exactly as she had before.

"It doesn't mean she's waking up. Sometimes there are muscle twitches." Cassie explained, and Caroline's heart shot down to the floor.

Rudy sighed and put a hand over his face.

However, the next second, the nurse looked back at Bonnie and blinked.

Bonnie's fingers were moving again, on both hands and her heart monitor picked up it's space a tad, her eyelids fluttering.

"I take that back, she's definitely waking up." the nurse said, "I'll go get Dr. Fell." Cassie rushed out of the room.

Caroline's eyes went wide, "Damon." she said and disappeared out of the door.

Damon was headed back to the room slowly when all the sudden he saw Caroline sprinting at him, she was running so fast that when she stopped in front of him, she crashed into him hard.

He inhaled sharply.

"Caroline!" he cursed, and she backed away from him breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked the girl who was trying to get her words together.

"Bonnie's waking up." Caroline said and his eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, thinking he had imagined those words.

"She's waking up!" she said and grabbed his wrist pulling him forwards.

They started running through the hospital together, getting several annoyed looks.

Damon's heart was pounding in his chest, and when they got to her room, everyone but Dr. Fell and two nurses were cleared out of the room. Even Rudy was out in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Enzo asked as him and Stefan had just gotten their holding their coffees.

"Bonnie's waking up." Caroline said with a huge grin on her face, although her eyes were kind of scared.

"Seriously?" Stefan asked, wide eyed.

Damon was trying to figure out what was doing on inside the room, but the doctors had pulled the curtain all the way around Bonnie's bed. All he could hear was murmured talking.

Bonnie's vision was blurry, and full of bright light as the doctors shined small lights into her eyes to check her vitals.

She was confused, it was a similar feeling to when you take sleeping pills and wake up 12 hours later unsure of if it's day, night, how long you've been asleep with no memory of what you dreamed off. The first thing she noticed was the doctors when her vision started to clear, the second thing she noticed was the pain from her ankles to the top of her head.

"Do you know who you are?" a female voice asked her, and she searched around but the bright light was kind of hard to get used to.

"I-.." she tried to speak but her throat was kind of dry, voice hoarse.

"My names Dr. Fell, I'm going to give you some water."

She felt something tilted to her lips and water flowed into her mouth, she swallowed it.

"Do you know who you are?" Bonnie was asked again.

"B-Bonnie, Bonnie Salvatore." she replied, and the two nurses sighed, in relief.

"What year is it Bonnie?" Dr. Fell asked her and the light was flipped off, making it easier for her to see the dark haired doctor.

"2015." Bonnie said slowly, her voice quiet, still hoarse.

The doctor smiled a little.

"What happened, why am I in the hospital?" she asked, her mind clearing a bit.

"You were in an accident, Bonnie. But everything is going to be okay." Dr. Fell assured her, and the water was tilted up to her mouth again, and she took two small drinks eagerly. She felt like she hadn't drank anything in weeks.

The nurse check her pulse and Dr. Fell disappeared outside the curtain that was around her bed.

Damon waited five nerve racking moments for the doctor to step out into the hallway.

"She is awake." Dr. Fell told them, "However, I think it's best for only one of you to go in right now, so she isn't in shock."

Rudy spoke up, "Damon, you should go in."

Damon blinked, "No, sir, I think you should." he said his chest hurting.

Rudy stepped over to him, "Get in that room." he said his lips pulling up at the edges and he patted Damon on the back.

Damon nodded and stepped into the room.

Dr. Fell stepped in behind him, and the two nurses left, closing the door behind them.

Dr. Fell pulled the curtain back around Bonnie's bed to the other side of the room where it had been before.

"Bonnie." Dr. Fell started slowly, and Bonnie couldn't move her neck that easily, but her eyes moved to the side.

"Your husband is here to see you, is that okay?" she asked, and Bonnie nodded, and then winced when she realized that wasn't a great idea.

Bonnie was having trouble getting her thoughts together. Between trying to figure out what accident she was in, to what hospital she was in, to where Damon was, it was all mixed around in her head.

Damon swallowed, his heart beating hard in his chest and as he rounded over to the side of the bed he saw her open eyes, saw her blinking, her fingers moving, and his eyes instantly filled with tears.

Dr. Fell stood several feet away from the bed, giving them space, but keeping watch on Bonnie.

Damon grabbed the bar on the side of the bed, and pushed the buttons along the sides, moving the railing down away from the bed, hooking it underneath so it wasn't blocking her.

He pulled the chair closed and sunk into it, taking her hand.

"Bonnie." he said slowly, and watched her emerald green eyes flicker over to him for the first time in three weeks.

"Hey." was all Bonnie said, in one slightly hoarse breathe.

Damon closed his eyes, moving her hand up and pressing it to his face.

"Speak again." he whispered.

Bonnie swallowed, " Say what?" she asked, a little hazy.

Damon started to laugh a little, "Anything, everything." Bonnie suddenly felt wet dripping onto her bruised hand.

She winced a little at the pressure he was putting on her hand but didn't pull away.

"D-Damon." Bonnie started, licking at her lips, "What happened?"

Damon sniffleed and moved her hand from his face, opening his eyes and looking at her.

She was a little skinnier than a few weeks ago, her face was a tad paler, her lips dry. But she was there, awake.

"They found you..." he spoke slowly, " Alice found you at the bottom of the stairs, you must have fell down them." he furrowed his brow, "You've been in a coma."

Bonnie's eyes widened a little, "Oh.. m-my god." she whispered.

"You don't remember?" Damon asked, worried.

"No." she replied, "I only remember.. I g-got home and took a bath." she replied, and then stopped, unable to pull anything else up after that in her memory.

"Is that all, do you remember anything about the accident?" Dr. Fell asked, cutting into their conversation.

"No... I just.. I hurt a lot." Bonnie said, wincing when she tried to move.

"I'll go get you some pain medicine." Dr. Fell said and slipped out of the door, closing it behind her.

Bonnie looked back at Damon, seeing the redness and tiredness of his eyes, the tears on his face.

"God, Bonnie." he whispered, voice cracking, "I missed your voice so much."

She furrowed her brow, "How long was.. was I in a coma?" she asked, knowing she wasn't going to like the answer. By the look of Damon's stubble that was a quarter of an inch past being stubble, she knew it had been more than a few days.

"Three weeks." Damon told her, the pain apparent on his face.

"Oh no." Bonnie whispered, her chest hurting for an entirely different reason.

They just sat there, and she looked at the man she cared about with tears dripping from his eyes as he stared back at her, taking in the very site of her face, of her blinking, her swallowing.

Dr. Fell came in a few seconds later with Bonnie's pain medication, and a small bottle of water.

"If you can keep this water and pill down, you can have food water." she told Bonnie, who had only just realized her stomach was empty.

Bonnie took the small pill with a drink of water, and Damon helped her put the cap back on, resting the bottle near her side.

"We will take some scans when you are ready." the doctor told her, "If the scans come back clear, and you don't relapse within the next day, you can be discharged." she started, "However, I would suggest hiring a home nurse for the first few days to a week."

"O-ok." Bonnie said slowly.

"We will hire a home nurse, do you have any information not hat?" Damon asked looking at the doctor.

Dr. Fell nodded, "I will have someone bring you information. Right now, I'll give you two some time alone, when she's ready to see more people, feel free to let them in."

She walked out again, closing the door behind her.

Bonnie's eyes shifted back over to Damon, who wasn't taking his eyes off her for a second.

He leaned down, resting his chin in his hand.

Bonnie licked her lips, "How are you?" she asked simply, in a soft voice.

Damon blinked, "You just woke up from a coma, and you're asking about me?"

"Yes." she said with no default.

Damon chuckled, his eyes getting teary again.

"I'm better, so much better now." he breathed and took her hand, being careful not to hold it so hard.

"I.. I can't imagine how difficult this was for you." Bonnie's eyes grew sad.

"It was very difficult, for everyone." he nodded, "I was so.." he started, his voice cracking, "I was terrified you'd never wake up."

Bonnie's own eyes which had been dry for the past weeks filled with tears and they stung a little more than usual.

She lifted her hand, although weak and in pain, and pressed it to the side of his face.

"I'm here." she whispered, and his lips turned up at the edges.

"Never leave." Damon whispered closing his eyes and turning his face towards her touch.

Tears dripped down Bonnie's face as she looked at him, but then something she had wanted to ask him struck in her brain.

"Did you merge with the London company?" she asked, and his eyes opened quickly, and a amused look crossed over his face.

He started to chuckle.

"What?" Bonnie frowned.

"Yes, we.. we merged." Damon inhaled.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked, confused.

Damon swallowed and took another breath, "Because, you.. I can't believe how amazing you are." he shook his head, and her lips turned up a little.

"You're the brightest thing I've ever laid eyes on." he said softly, and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers gently.

Bonnie closed her eyes, and felt his lips against hers softly, and she tried to move her head up a little to kiss him back but winced. She could faintly taste bourbon on his lips but didn't say anything.

Damon moved back and just looked at her face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Bonnie smiled just a bit, "It's okay, the medicine will kick in."

Damon nodded, "Do you want to see your father now, and Caroline?" he asked.

"I want to see everyone, anyone who's here." she said and he nodded, getting up off the chair and opened the door.

She couldn't hear what he was saying but a second later and not only Rudy and Caroline were walking in, but Enzo, and Stefan as well.

"Bonnie." Caroline whispered and stepped over, taking her hand. Rudy took her other hand on the other side of her bed.

"Daddy..." she smiled a bit, "Caroline." she looked over at both of them as best as possible.

"We missed you so much." Caroline inhaled, trying not to cry.

Bonnie squeezed both their hands, and flickered her eyes around to everyone.

"I'm sure I missed you too, although that.. that was a _really_ long nap." she teased and everyone chuckled.

"She hasn't lost her sense of humor." Enzo remarked, evoking more chuckles and Bonnie smiled.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Rudy said, caressing his daughters hair.

"I'm sorry all of you h-had to go without me for so l-long." Bonnie smiled a little again.

Stefan smiled as well, putting his hand on Damon's shoulder.

Damon still hadn't taken his eyes off Bonnie.

Although he knew he needed to tell Bonnie about Kai, and about his mother wanting to see. Then he had to ask Bonnie if she wanted to see them and respect whatever choice she made.

"We've all been here for you. You were never left alone." Stefan told her, and Bonnie gave him an appreciative look.

Bonnie inhaled, "Thank you, all of you." she squeezed Caroline and her fathers hands again.

* * *

The next day, Bonnie's MRI's had come back clear. She still couldn't remember what had happened with the accident, but Dr. Fell seemed sure her memories would return once she got some rest at home.

Just Damon sat in the hospital room with Bonnie, Stefan and Enzo had headed back to Mystic Falls after hearing Bonnie was being discharged, so they could get the home nurse taken care of before Bonnie got home.

Caroline and Rudy were packing their things for leaving Minnesota.

"You seem to be okay, other than sore, and minor memory loss," Dr. Fell repeated.

Bonnie nodded very carefully, and watched as the doctor pulled her IV out and covered the small hole it with a bandage. It was by far easier than taking the catheter out had been. Bonnie shuttered just thinking about it.

"Would you like to try and stand up, walk, to see if you need a wheel chair or not?" Dr. Fell asked, and Bonnie was was always especially cocky when it came to doing things on her own, smiled a little.

"Yes." she replied.

Dr. Fell stepped over to the side of the bed without the railing where Damon was.

"Damon, will her take her other arm?" she asked and he nodded.

Bonnie moved a little too quickly shifting her legs over to hang off the bed.

They moved to both side of her, putting their arms out so if she needed support she could grab them.

Bonnie used her arms and pushed her butt forward until her feet were against the floor.

However the second she used all her strength to stand up, she found it was, one, really fucking painful, and two, her legs were too weak from not having walked in three weeks.

Bonnie inhaled and felt her legs giving out, but Damon grabbed her, watching her in his arms before she could hit the floor.

He lifted her up bridal style like she was a feather.

"O-okay, not ready to walk." Bonnie gasped, her vision blurry for a moment.

"You need to be careful..." Dr. Fell furrowed her brow and touched Bonnie's shoulder.

"I'm going to get you a wheel chair, it's your to keep, and I will also get you a list of physical therapists in your area. You're going to need to see one for a few weeks to get the strength back in your muscles." she explained and walked out the door.

Bonnie sighed as Damon set her back down on the bed. She was still wearing her red pajamas, her hair a curly mess around her head, but she didn't care.

Damon knelled down, and looked up at her.

"It's going to be okay." he told her, and his breath was a mint scent, from the mouth wash he'd used to mask the scent of the glass of bourbon he'd had when he went to pack his things in the hotel room.

He hadn't planned on drinking again. Bonnie was awake, she was okay.

However, the shakiness in his hands, the headache, it was only cured by taking a drink, or two. Damon knew he needed to stop that, but it was harder than he thought.

One drink, that was all he was going to have that day.

Sadly, it was a lie to himself that he just hadn't broken yet.

"I know." Bonnie reached out, touching his face.

"I should tell you." Damon started slowly, "Your ex, Kai showed up."

Bonnie's eyes went wide, "W-what?" she asked, looking frightened, and he didn't like that reaction one bit.

"Caroline told me about him. I made him leave, but I told him I would ask if he could see you when you wake up." he mentioned and Bonnie's stomach started to hurt.

This meant Kai was out of jail.

"I.. No, I don't want to see him." she started her heart rate picking up, "I don't want to talk about him."

Damon quickly grabbed her hands, "It's okay, you don't have to." he said, trying to calm her down.

Bonnie swallowed, hands shaking against his, "I'll talk about him when I want.. want too, please just don't mention..him." she inhaled deeply.

He nodded, "I won't." Damon furrowed his brow.

When she looked at him, she could tell that wasn't all, and she sighed.

"What else?" she asked, frowning.

"My mother... I kept her and my father from seeing you, but she would really like to see you now that you're awake." he explained, and watched the confused look cross over her face.

"Why in the hell would Lily want to see me, she hates me?" Bonnie inquired.

Damon sighed, "I don't think she hates you... I, I can't explain. I just know she wants to see you. She seemed concerned for you." he explained.

Bonnie looked at his face and then away for a moment.

"I don't want to see her right now, maybe when we get home." she suggested.

"Of course." he agreed and kissed her hand very lightly.

Nurse Cassie came in with the wheel chair, Dr. Fell following behind her with Bonnie's discharge papers.

"I wrote you a prescription for high strength naproxen sodium, which is Aleve, but you couldn't get this dosage over the counter." Dr. Fell explained and handed Damon a bundle of papers.

"Also, you do seem to have mild swimmers ear, it's common in coma patients, from the bathing process, don't worry, I got you some ear drops."

"Okay." Bonnie replied.

"There's information on physical therpary, best ways to help Bonnie." she continyed, "And, I do not want you trying to climb stairs, or dance right way."

Bonnie smiled a bit and nodded.

"If anything happens, please get a hold of me. I hope you feel better." Dr. Fell touched her hand and stepped out of the room.

Nurse Cassie helped Bonnie into the wheel chair and then left Damon and Bonnie on their own.

"Oh.." Bonnie mumbled, "Did Caroline tell you about..." she started but Damon finished for her.

"About you quitting Whitmore? Yes she did." he said slowly and knelled down to face her again.

Bonnie frowned.

"I am proud of you." Damon said, surprising her.

"Really? For quitting school, a company?" she asked.

"Very proud." he touched her face and kissed her lips, making her smile.

"Mmm, kiss me again." Bonnie whispered and he kissed her once more, and she chuckled a breathy chuckle.

"You're beautiful." Damon looked into her eyes after backing away.

Bonnie put her hands in her lap, "Stop flirting with me and get me out of here."

Damon chuckle, and with a shake of his head grabbed her papers and bag of clothing, slowly pushed her out of the room and down the hallway.

"I can't believe I'm in Minnesota." Bonnie said, looking around, trying not to move her neck all that much.

"How are we getting home?" she asked as they wheeled into an elevator.

"Private jet." Damon replied and she smiled a little, watching the elevator doors closed.

Damon pushed the buttons for the first floor.

Bonnie was about to say something else when suddenly the elevator started to go downwards, and a something flashed before her eyes.

It lasted all of 3 seconds, but she remembered standing near the stairs, and all the sudden two hands were against her back.

She gasped, eyelids fluttering as she came out of the flash back.

Damon moved around to the front of her a little, "What?" he asked worried.

"I... I think.. someone pushed me." Bonnie whispered.

"You remember the accident?" Damon questioned.

Bonnie swallowed, "I don't remember all of it, but I remember being on the stairs, and I was upset about something, then I felt hands on my back." she inhaled.

Damon furrowed his brow.

"Who do you think pushed you?" he asked, but she couldn't answer, she didn't have a clue.

The elevator doors opened at the first floor.

"I don't know." Bonnie said, suddenly a lot more distressed, "But, I know it wasn't an accident."

* * *

Please **_leave a review_**!


	15. You're My Heart

_**A/N:** Thank you all SO much for all your support. I'm literally in tears after this chapter, and I can't wait for your response. I personally have battled with addiction, so this chapter is so close to home._

* * *

 _ **Chapter 15** \- You're My Heart _

Damon wheeled Bonnie along the concrete towards the private jet once they got to the airport. The rental car sped away and he looked down at her. She seemed worried, and hadn't said a single thing since she discovered her accident, wasn't and accident.

"We should probably tell everyone you remembered something." he said quietly, looking at Caroline and Rudy who were several feet ahead of them.

"No, no, we can't." Bonnie insisted, trying to ignore the sunlight that was making her head hurt worse.

Damon furrowed his brow, "Why?" he asked her.

"Because.. we don't know who did it. I don't know who to trust." she admitted, and this made him frown.

It was all so complicated. None of them should have to worry about anything but making sure Bonnie got better. Instead Damon and Bonnie were both worried about who pushed her, why they pushed her and if they'd try to hurt her again. On top of it, Damon was frustrated about Giuseppe hurting his mother.

"Nothing is simple anymore." he sighed and she wished her neck didn't hurt so much so she could tilt her head and look back at him.

Damon rolled her up the ramp and once everyone was inside the door was closed.

He locked the wheels and then gently picked Bonnie up, setting her in one of the seats before taking the chair to compact it and secure it near the back of the jet.

Rudy and Caroline were in the two seats facing Bonnie and she smiled a little.

Damon sat back down beside her, watching her try and move her arms to buckle but her torso was too sore to turn the way she needed it to.

"Do you want some help?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Bonnie gave him a look, "I'm not a baby, I can do this." she insisted but furrowed her brow when she couldn't.

He chuckled and reached over, sliding his fingers over hers, and helping her buckle the belt.

"Until you're healed, you are a baby." Damon teased and shifted his seat, buckling his own belt.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him, but he only slid his hand back over and gently linked his fingers with hers.

"Everyone buckled?" the female light attendant asked and Damon nodded, she smiled and stepped over, moving to seat herself a few rows back.

The jet started to take off and Bonnie winced at the slight pain from the minor jostling.

"You alright?" her father asked at the exact same time Damon did and Caroline smiled, folding her arms across her chest.

Bonnie blinked and looked at both of the men, "I'll be fine."

She inhaled as the plane was in the air and they had a few hours to relax. Leaning over she carefully rested her head against Damon's shoulder, and he looked down at her with a small smile.

"Stop staring at me I'm trying to sleep." she said slowly, and he shook his head.

"You didn't sleep over night at all did you?" Damon asked her and she exhaled.

"No, I was watching you sleep." Bonnie replied, and Caroline had to refrain from saying 'awe' out loud by putting two fingers over her mouth.

Damon lifted a hand and brushed a curl behind her ear.

"It's a nice change of pace, but you should rest." he told her and she mumbled something incoherent.

He chuckled lightly and looked away from her, so she could sleep, resting his head against the seat.

Damon wasn't sure how long it had been, maybe ten or twenty minutes, but Bonnie finally started to snore very quietly.

"You're very good to her." Rudy spoke up, and Damon tilted his head forward to look at the man.

"I know the circumstances weren't the best, but I don't doubt for one second, that you care about her." he continued, and Caroline smiled.

"I do care for her." Damon spoke, "If anything, after thinking I was going to lose her forever, I care about her even more."

Caroline smiled even bigger, wanting to speak up so badly, but she let Rudy talk.

"I can tell she cares about you." Rudy smiled a bit.

"I knew that they were going to like each other from the second they got married." Caroline finally spoke up.

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Did you now?" he asked.

She nodded, excited eyes, "Yes! You guys, well... For one you're such a gorgeous couple, and secondly, you make each other smile."

Damon chuckled, "I don't know if you know this, Rudy but I met your daughter before the wedding." he said looking at him.

Rudy raised his eyebrows for a second, "Really? Bonnie never mentioned that."

"Yeah, once. It was at a club on her birthday." he explained, not wanting to get into that much detail.

Caroline though, had no problem voicing her version of it.

"Bonnie wandered over to his booth, and basically got hammered. I had to pull her out of there before something stupid happened." she said and Damon's eyes went wide.

"Caroline!" he gave her a look.

Rudy just chuckled however, "I'm not surprised."

Damon cleared his throat, "Really?" he asked.

Rudy shook his head, "Bonnie had never been one for, drinking, or club scenes, although, her best friend is." he gave Caroline a small look and she just rolled her eyes and looked to the side.

"However, you two seem drawn to each other. Plus, my daughter has always fallen for the tall ones." he chuckled and Damon damn near blushed.

He chuckled as well to ease the embarrassment but then thought back to Kai. He had been tall as well, with blueish eyes, strong build.

"Yeah, I guess I saw that when I met Kai." Damon started, and Caroline's eyes went wide.

"You met Kai, when?" Rudy asked, his amused face fading away.

Caroline started making a cutting motion with her hand as discretely as possible, and Damon was confused.

"At the hospital, yesterday." he continued and Rudy's body language quickly went tense.

"Why did no one tell me about this?" Rudy asked, and looked over at Caroline who had just finished face palming herself, her forehead resting in her hand.

"I guess I didn't think about it." Damon replied.

"Did he go in her room? What did he want?" the man asked, and suddenly Damon got what Caroline had been trying to tell him.

"Ohh..." he said slowly, and looked over at Caroline apologetically. She shook her head and sighed.

Caroline shifted in her seat, talking quickly.

"He just wanted to see if she was okay, I talked to him. He said he got out of jail two months ago." she explained.

"Did he go in her room?" Rudy asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Damon swallowed, "Yes, he did." he started, "But... but, I asked him to leave until she was able to decide for herself if she wants to see him."

Rudy nodded, "I assume you talked to her about it."

"I did, briefly, she told me she didn't want to talk about or, or see him." he sighed.

"Honestly, even if she does want to see him ever again, I'm against it." Rudy shook his head.

Damon pursed his lips, "If it's any conciliation, sir, the feeling is mutual."

"I feel like Kai changed, I mean, he was never that bad of a guy. He made a mistake." Caroline said slowly, but Rudy interrupted her.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about him. I'm just glad Bonnie is coming home." he said and she nodded with a small frown.

Damon was quiet for a second, "Can I just ask... I feel like there's something more to this, besides this fight he got into it."

Rudy's eyes flickered over to the window and he was about to talk but this time Caroline interrupted him.

"I think that if Bonnie wants to and is ready to, she will talk to Damon about Kai." she suggested and Damon nodded.

"I guess you're right, I should let her tell me." he sighed.

After a moment, Damon ran a hand through his hair, looking out the window at the darkening sky.

"You guys want to stay at our place for the night?" he asked.

Caroline smiled, "I'll stay the night sure."

Rudy shook his head, "Thanks for the offer but I think I'd prefer my own bed." he chuckled.

Damon nodded and Bonnie, who still had her eyes closed, startled them a bit by speaking.

"You're not leaving already are you dad?" she asked, referring to his band gig, and Rudy looked over at her.

"No, I'm going to stay for a few days, don't worry." Rudy assured her and her lips turned up at the edges.

Damon gave Bonnie's hand he was still holding a small squeeze.

* * *

A few hours later and the jet had dropped them off at the airport. At 8pm the sun had already set and Bonnie was looking a little tired but mostly she just wanted to get back home. Ironic, since home was a new place, where she'd been pushed down the stairs. But, where Damon was, she wanted to be. That was for sure.

Damon had helped Bonnie back into her wheel chair, and she insisted on using her sore arms to cry and wheel herself to the car that had been arranged to pick them up. However, about half way across the lot and she gave Caroline a doe eyed, 'please help me' look.

Caroline chuckled and stepped over, pushing her the rest of the way, since Damon had both his hands full of luggage.

While Damon finished putting the things in the truck, Rudy helped Bonnie into the back seat of the car.

"Thanks daddy." she smiled and he kissed her forehead before going to sit in the passenger seat.

Caroline slid in beside Bonnie, then Damon after folding the wheel chair and placing it in the trunk as well, this leaving her in the middle between them.

"Is..." Bonnie started, looking over at Damon, "Your parents won't be there will be?" she asked.

Damon pursed his lips, "I don't think so, hold on." he said, pulling out his phone and opening the shared family calender that had all company and family related meetings.

"Well, my father won't be. He's currently in New York. My mother doesn't have anything, but she doesn't usually come to Mystic Falls without him." he explained.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, "She wouldn't have gone to New York with him?" she asked.

"She might have, but they don't always go everywhere together." Damon shrugged.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "I just hope she's not there."

Damon reached over, putting a hand over hers as the car went along the road.

Finally the driver pulled up in front of the Salvatore house and everyone got out, Damon helping Bonnie back into her wheel chair.

"I hope I can get used to this." she sighed, looking at one of the arm rests.

"You won't need to for long, I'm sure you'll be up and walking soon." Rudy assured her and she gave him a loving look.

"Oh, Damon. My presciritons need to be picked up at the pharmacy, they're only open another hour." she reminded him.

Damon had to bags of luggage in his hands.

"I'll send Alice." he said casually.

Enzo came out of the front door and jogged over to them.

"Well, look whose back and wheeling around." he teased looking down at Bonnie.

"Don't tease me." Bonnie chuckled.

"And, no you should go get it." she said to Damon.

"I'll get those." Rudy took the luggage from Damon.

Damon raked his fingers through his hair, "Alright, I'll go." he said slowly, "Enzo you want to come with me?"

Enzo blinked, "Uh, yeah, sure mate." he chuckled.

"I'll see you when I get back." Damon said, and leaned down to Bonnie.

She smiled up at him, inviting him to lean down further and when he did their lips met. She kissed him softly and he pulled away.

Caroline grinned, watching Enzo and Damon walk away and to Damon's car across the way.

Damon got in the car and Enzo, who had his keys tossed them to him.

"I haven't seen you in forever." he spoke to the car as he started it.

"Really, you miss your car?" Enzo asked with an amused look.

Damon rolled his eyes and they headed out onto the road.

"You know, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment with all your drinking." Enzo commented as they walked aimlessly down one of the isles of CVS.

"What's that?" Damon asked, pretending her hadn't heard.

Once they got to the counter, Damon waited for a blonde woman to step over.

"For Bonnie Salvatore." he said and she nodded, typing into the computer.

She stepped over and grabbed a paper bag with a card stapled to it and handed it to him.

"Thank you." Damon nodded and turned back around to see Enzo standing there with his arms folded.

"What?" he asked, and they headed back down the isle.

"In the last three weeks, you've consumed at least eight bottles of bourbon, that's about two hundred and seventy two ounces of alcohol. The average person, would have checked themselves into rehab, by now." Enzo said shoving his hands in his pocket.

"I'm fine." Damon insisted, getting annoyed, but as they stepped near the cash registers, he saw the alcohol isle and his palms started aching.

"I disagree. I also think you're going to let yourself fall into a black hole, you should at least tell Bonnie about it, not hide it from her." he suggested.

Damon sighed and turned to the left towards the alcohol isle.

"I'm not." he insisted.

Enzo shook his head as he watched his best friend grab a half pint of Captain Morgan.

"Since when do you even drink that?" she asked.

"Since now." Damon said and Enzo sighed.

"You're buying smaller bottles of alcohol you don't even like, just so you can drink it and get rid of the bottle quickly." he commented, and Damon ignored him.

"You're carrying mouth wash in your pocket, and breath mints, to mask the smell." Enzo continued listing all the ways Damon was trying to hide his problem.

"Okay you know what, I don't need this from you." Damon said as the man at the counter rung up the bottle.

"You're just in denial, mate." Enzo shook his head.

* * *

Bonnie, Caroline, Stefan and Rudy all sat in the living room while Wayne took Bonnie and Damon's luggage up to their room, and Caroline's to one of the guest rooms.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Alice said, her brow furrowed as she stood in front of Bonnie's wheel chair.

"Thank you, Alice." Bonnie said quietly.

"I was so worried when I found you, then when I found out you were in the coma." the woman sighed.

"I'm going to be okay." she repeated and Alice nodded quickly.

"Can I get you anything?"she asked.

Bonnie inhaled, "Uh, some tea would be nice." she told her.

Alice nodded, "Of course. Would anyone else like some tea?" she asked the rest of them.

"Sure, why not." Caroline said, and Stefan nodded in agreement from his place beside her on the couch.

"No thank you." Rudy said and Alice nodded before stepping out of the room.

"This house is so beautiful." Caroline commented, and Bonnie smiled.

"Yeah, it's nice." she replied.

Honestly, it was a little daunting, being back there. Bonnie wished she could remember the fall, who pushed her, what she'd been upset over. Something hadn't been right, obviously. Maybe whatever she was upset about, would explain the motive for whoever pushed her. Because, you don't just push someone down the stairs on accident.

Bonnie might only remember one thing, but it was a strong feelings. Hands on her back, shoving her deliberately in one strong motion.

"So, did I miss anything while I was in the coma?" she asked, curious.

"Well, not much." Caroline said slowly, wishing they didn't have to even remember the last three weeks of waiting for Bonnie to wake up.

Stefan shifted in his seat, "Caroline must have read 'Queenie' to you about five times."

Bonnie smiled, "Oh, my favorite book. You really read it to me five times?" she asked her best friend.

Caroline nodded, "Well, maybe four times. It's a huge book."

"It is, I'm surprised you read it to me once." she replied.

"She hardly left the room. I had to drag her down to get coffee, tell her to sleep." Stefan said with a small smile, looking over at Caroline.

Bonnie smiled as well, but noticed the way Stefan's body was turned towards Caroline.

"I didn't want to leave her alone." Caroline insisted.

"Either way, she would've forgotten about herself if I hadn't reminded her." Stefan smiled.

Caroline's face blushed very lightly, "Well, you probably would've too. Had I not reminded you."

Bonnie watched them curiously.

"The band wanted to come see you, but the hospital was already being as lenant as possible about letting so many people visit you." Rudy explained after a moment.

"Oh, no that's okay. I know you have missed a lot of your shows though." she frowned.

"I'm just glad you're okay." her father reached over and touched her hand.

"I hope you don't mind but I think I'll order an uber and get home. We all need some rest." Rudy said and Bonnie blinked.

"Of course, I understand... You don't need to stay around and miss your shows anymore though, dad." she told him.

"No, no. I want to stay a few more days." he insisted, pulling out his phone and setting the uber to come get him.

"I'll come visit you tomorrow." Rudy stood up and touched her hair softly.

"Okay, I love you." Bonnie smiled a bit.

"I love you too." he replied before making his way out of the living room just as Alice came in with Bonnie, Stefan and Caroline's tea on a tray.

"Here's your tea, some cream, sugar." Alice said, setting the tray on the coffee table and poured the tea from the pot into the ceramic mugs.

"Thank you, Alice." Bonnie looked at her.

"Can I get anything else?" she asked, standing back up straight.

When no one else spoke up, she nodded.

"If you need anything else, please let me know." Alice said and stepped out of the room.

Caroline scooted off the couch a little, to set her tea up, so did Stefan.

"Hey, can one of you put some sugar in mine?" Bonnie asked, feeling kind of furstrated that she couldn't lean over and do it herself.

"I got you." Stefan chuckled and fixed her tea for her, standing up and stepping over, before placing it in her hands.

"Thanks." Bonnie chuckled, "I feel useless." she sighed.

"Hey." Caroline furrowed her brow, "Don't say that. You'll be back to normal in no time."

"I suppose." she replied slowly, looking at the tea steaming.

"I'll be right back." Stefan said after a moment and left the room.

Bonnie pursed her lips, and eyed Caroline.

"Sooo. Do you want to tell me what's going on with you and Stefan now, or later?" she asked and the blond blinked.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked, setting her tea back down on the table.

Bonnie tapped her finger along her mug.

"I don't know, he seems...kind of into you. You seem a little into him. If I'm being honest." she said slowly.

Caroline sighed, "Alright... So, things with Matt are still weird, and he wouldn't even come to the hospital to be with me." she put a hand up motioning and leaned back into the couch.

"Stefan was there with me most of the time, and he's nice. He actually cares about you as well. But, I swear there's been nothing but innocent conversation." she continued, folding her arms.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "It's a dangerous game to like one of the Salvatore's." she sighed, and Caroline narrowed her eyes.

"What's that mean?" she asked but before Bonnie could reply, Stefan walked back in the room.

"What are you two talking about?" Stefan teased as he sat back down beside Caroline, grabbing his tea.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Just catching up." she replied.

The front door opened, and a second later Bonnie could hear Wayne asking if he could take their coats and then Enzo stepped in the room.

"That was quicker than I thought." she commented and Enzo nodded.

"Yeah it was long ready when we got there." he explained.

A minute later and Damon walked in, having put his bottle of alcohol somewhere else, carrying Bonnie's prescriptions.

"Thank you." she smiled at him when he stepped in front of her.

"It's not a problem." Damon smiled a little back at her, but the guilt in his chest was heavier now.

He set her bag on the coffee table and noticed the tea there.

"Having tea are you?" he asked with a chuckle.

"It's good." Caroline said sipping at hers.

"Well, I think I'll get going." Enzo suggested after a second.

He stepped over and took Caroline's free hand, giving it a small kiss before stepping over to Bonnie and kneeling down a little. Enzo kissed the side of her face lightly and stood back up.

"You feel better now." he told her and she smiled.

"Thank you." Bonnie said and Damon narrowed his eyes a little at his best friend, watching him walk out of the room.

Caroline was blushing a little but she cleared her throat.

"Hey, I know that we just got Bonnie back, but I'd really like some time to watch a movie with her or something." she mentioned, looking over at her friend.

Damon blinked, "Oh, no of course. Stefan and I will let you two have some time." he agreed.

"Do you want me to help you sit on the couch?" he asked Bonnie who chuckled.

"That would nice."

Damon helped Bonnie onto the couch, and leaned down kissing her forehead.

Her face flushed a bit, and he couldn't explain how much he had missed that.

Damon turned and started back out of the room but once he stepped out, he noticed Stefan hadn't followed him, so he took one step backwards into the room.

" _Stefan_ and I will be giving you some time now." he repeated, and Stefan blinked, getting up.

"Right..." Stefan said and quickly walked out past the women and out of the room.

Damon shook his head.

He knew this was probably a good time to tell Stefan about their mother. Although he knew Lily didn't want him to tell anyone, Damon couldn't keep something that important from his brother. He also knew he would need to tell Bonnie at some point.

"Listen, we need to talk." he said and Stefan turned around to face him.

"You sound serious, what is it?" Stefan asked and Damon looked around slowly.

"Not here, in the library." he insisted and the two of them headed down the long hallway.

Once they were in the library, Damon closed the double doors and walked over to the two chairs, and table, but didn't sit down.

"Everything alright?" Stefan after, watching his brother pace curiously.

"Not exactly." he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and turned to face Stefan completely.

Stefan furrowed his brow, and walked a bit closer.

"I found out Giu-, father, has been hurting mother." Damon said slowly, his hands were shaky and he blinked a few times, trying to forget the bottle of his alcohol in the room.

"What do you mean?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"At the hospital, she showed me a bruise on her wrist. I asked her if he'd done that before, and he has. He's been doing it for years." Damon swallowed hard, and watched Stefan's eyes grow even more confused, masking the denial that he wished he could voice.

"I never saw anything like that when we were kids, how haven't we noticed?" Stefan questioned.

Damon stepped to the left a few times over to the coffee table and pulled his bottle of Capt. Morgan out from underneath it, unable to get it off his mind.

"She says he stopped when we were born, which, makes sense, considering when we were kids he was..." Damon said with a sighed, "not exactly hands off with you and I."

He screwed the lid off the bottle and took a swig of it, Stefan watched him with a slightly disapproving look, but honestly, they were talking about a bigger problem. At least, at the moment it was more important.

Damon swallowed before continuing, "He started back up, I don't know when. Probably around the time we got older and he just started pushing us in the direction he wanted."

Stefan inhaled, his green eyes angry.

"I.. He's been hurting her this entire time.." he said quietly, "We have to do something, mother has to do something." his voice was a little louder and he stepped closer to Damon.

Damon nodded but didn't reply, just took another drink and put the lid back on, setting it back under the table.

Stefan desperately wanted to ask why he was putting the bottle there, but he needed to stay on topic.

"What are you going to do, Damon?" he asked, visibly upset. His hands were in fists, eyes wide, with a small watery glimmer to them.

"Nothing, we can't do anything at least not right now. Mother doesn't want to do anything." Damon sighed.

"We need to convince her to. Or, we need..." Stefan started, looking around frantically, "We need to talk to father."

"We need to make it clear, that he needs to stop this." he continued and started to turn around, planning on heading for the door.

"Woah, hey." Damon grabbed Stefan's shoulder, pulling him back and turning him around.

"Don't touch me." Stefan pulled away, "I need to go, and confront him."

Damon sighed, and grabbed his brothers shoulders with both hands.

"You know what's going to happen if you go confront him? He's gonna kick your ass, and then by some power of his, he'll get you thrown in jail for _him kicking your ass_ ; then when you get of jail, you'll have to find a new last name because he's going to wipe you out of the family." he said, and Stefan furrowed his brow pulling away.

"Look, I'm not supposed to be telling you this. But I need too." Damon continued, "Bonnie remembers someone pushing her down the stairs."

Stefan blinked, "So she was pushed? Who pushed her?" he asked, twice as worried now.

"We don't know, but I'm suspicious of father." he admitted.

Stefan inhaled, putting a hand on his head, "Great."

"So, what we need to do, is find evidence that it was him, and convince mother to press charges against him." Damon explained, "If he gets convicted for just abuse, he'd be able to pay his way out of it. He can pay his way out of everything. But, attempted murder? We'd actually be able to get him locked away."

Stefan nodded, "You're right..."

"Right now we don't have any evidence when it comes to Bonnie, but I think we should focus on trying to convince mother to get away from him." Damon suggested, his brother nodded.

He shook his head, "At the end of all this, hopefully we'll be an actual family again."

* * *

Later that night, Caroline had went to sleep upstairs in the guest room, and Damon and Bonnie were still sitting downstairs in the quiet house.

"It was nice spending time with her." Bonnie yawned a little, and Damon scooted closer to her on the couch.

"I'm glad. We all missed you." he said softly, and she could smell alcohol on his breathe despite his attempt to mask it with a mint.

"I'm sure." she replied, feeling a little down.

She didn't understand why he couldn't just tell her he'd started drinking again. Bonnie had told him she'd be there for him, help him. It was understandable that he would relapse with everything that had happened. She only wanted him to be honest about it.

"Are you tired?" Damon asked, and she licked at her lips.

"Yeah, you want to help me upstairs, or should I ask the nurse?" Bonnie asked, remembering that the home nurse, Xavier had gotten there a few hours before.

"I'll carry you." he insisted, standing up and gently pulling her into his arms. She pressed her face against his shoulder and winced.

"I'm sorry." he sighed but she shook her head very softly and he continued carrying her.

Bonnie closed her eyes when they were going up the stairs, her stomach hurting if she looked at them.

"Here you go." Damon whispered as he set her in the bed, and helped her get covered fixed her pillow for her.

The bed was soft, cool, fresh. She sunk into the bed and inhaled.

"You don't want to change into pajamas or anything?" he asked her and exhaled.

"No, I'm fine." Bonnie told him.

Damon exhaled, trying to ignore the urgue to get another drink, and changed into his pajamas, flipping the light out.

She felt him crawl into bed and scoot a little closed to her as she lay on her back.

Bonnie lifted her hand and weakly tried to turn felt onto her side, but didn't have much luck. Damon set a hand on her hip and left her roll over so she was facing him.

"Ouch." she huffed, and opened her eyes, looking at him in the dimness.

"You need any pain medicine?" Damon questioned.

"No, I took some half an hour ago." Bonnie explained and just looked into his face, her eyes kind of sad.

"You look upset." he commented, and lifted a hand to touch her face.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "You've been drinking again. I can tell, why are you trying to hide it from me?"  
Damon blinked, and for about two second, he was actually doing to try and deny it.

"I.. I just had one. I've got it under control." he assured her, lying. Or maybe he did actually think he had it under control.

Bonnie frowned, "Please don't lie to me."

Damon lifted a hand, running his fingers along her face.

"I'm not, it's okay." he said, and both of them knew this wasn't true.

When he leaned in to kissed her lips softly, she didn't really kiss him back and he knew that she was upset. But what was he supposed to say?

Denial was practically running through his veins in liquid form.

When Bonnie opened her eyes the next morning, Damon wasn't beside her but her wheel chair was sitting a few feet away from the bed. She swallowed, lifting the stronger of the two of her arms and resting her palm on her forehead.

"Damon?" she said slowly, but there was no reply from the bathroom or around the room.

She didn't know what was going on, but she knew Damon was clearly dealing with something he didn't want to admit.

Bonnie used all her strength to push upwards with her arms and sit up.

"Shit." she inhaled, "Medicine. I need medicine."

"Xavier." she called as loud as possible, and a few seconds later the bedroom door opened.

The shorter brown haired male nurse walked over to the bed.

"Mrs. Salvatore, can I help you with anything?" Xavier asked.

"Uh, well, I would like to go downstairs. I need some pain medication also." Bonnie told him and he nodded.

"I'll take the wheel chair down first, then come up and get you." he told her and she nodded slowly.

Once he grabbed the wheel chair and headed out of the room she looked around the bed for her phone.

There was no text from Damon saying where he went, if he was downstairs or out of the house, she didn't know. There wasn't a call from him, or anything.

Bonnie pursed her lips and slowly typed a message.

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _Where did you go?_

As she stared at her phone, Xavier walked back in the room in his jeans and greyish blue scrubs shirt.

"Alright, you ready?" he asked her.

"I guess." she chuckled and the man picked her up in his arms.

It was weird, having someone else other than Damon carry her, but the man was getting paid to help her so she wasn't going to refuse.

"You work out?" Bonnie asked, teasingly and Xavier smiled as he carried her down the stairs.

"Nurse by week, weight lifter on the weekends." he played along and finally got her seated in her wheel chair in the foyer.

Alice came walking out of the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Here, to take your medicine, Mrs. Bonnie." she said slowly and Xavier gave her a pain pill.

Bonnie took her medicine and Caroline came rushing down the stairs with her bags, dressed in attire for ballet.

"I really hope Ms. Bayes didn't write me out of the show entirely." she sighed and stopped in front of Bonnie.

"Going to practice?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, and after three weeks, I'm a little rusty." Caroline frowned.

"You'll be fine, you should go or you're gonna be late." she chuckled and Caroline smiled.

"Thanks, I'll try and come visit tomorrow alright?" her friend asked.

"Okay." Bonnie said, watching Caroline leave the house and get picked up by a cab.

Xavier pushed Bonnie into the living room and handed her the TV remote.

Bonnie sighed, still not getting a text back from Damon, and flipped through some channels. She wasn't really interested in the TV but what else was she supposed to do. She'd quit Whitmore, but at that moment she couldn't even walk on her own. She not only needed to focus on healing, but also decide what she wanted to do with her life, where she wanted to go with her ballet talent, if she wanted to stay in the whole ballet circuit.

Just when she was getting too deep in her worried thoughts, her father walked into the living room, startling her.

"Oh, daddy. I didn't know you were here." she exhaled.

Rudy chuckled, "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to visit you before I go to a show." he explained and knelt down at her chair.

"So, you're going to go?" she asked, feeling bad about having kept him from his band.

"I am, but I am not going to be gone as long as I usually am. I'll be back in Mystic Falls in a few weeks." Rudy assured her and set his hand over hers.

"You don't have to worry about me, I know you are though." Bonnie smiled a little.

Rudy smiled back at his daughter and moved over to sit on the couch a few feet away from her.

"I always worry about you." he started, "I know I haven't been around enough since you graduated High School, or even before. But, I do worry about you."

Bonnie turned her head a little ways to took at him.

"You think I don't know you worry? Every time you call me, you ask if I'm alright." she chuckled.

"I just feel a little guilty." Rudy admitted.

Bonnie frowned, "Don't. Your band is part of your life. I remember when you thought it was going down hill, but now you're more popular than ever. That won't last forever, but I will be here, always."

Rudy smiled, "You're too good of a daughter."

She blushed and tapped the tips of her fingers along one of the armrests.

"That's only because you're a good father." she insisted.

After a moment she looked down at her phone, still worried.

"What is it?" Rudy asked and she looked back up.

"I don't know, Damon left I guess and he didn't leave anything telling me where he is." Bonnie explained, and pressed call beside Damon's ID.

Thankfully she had enough strength to lift the phone to her ear. However, it rang, rang, rang, another four times and went to voice mail.

"I was just wondering where you are, uh, call me back." she spoke and then hung up, putting the phone back down on her lap.

Rudy pursed his lips, "I'm sure everything fine." he told her.

Bonnie inhaled, "Yeah it probably is."

* * *

"I know you didn't just track me down to say hello." Lily said as she stood outside a cafe in Richmond. The sun was setting as a light snow fell to the ground, building up upon the few inches that were already there.

"No, we didn't." Damon sighed and Stefan stood beside him.

"What is this about then?" she asked, her hands in the pocket of her coat.

Stefan tightened his scarf.

"It's about what fathers doing to you." he said and the womans eyes widened for a second.

"You told him?" Lily asked, looking at Damon, her blue eyes upset.

Damon nodded, "Yes, of course I told your son, my brother, that our father is hurting you." he shook motioned with his hand.

"Why? You know I didn't want you to tell anyone." she furrowed her brow.

Stefan scoffed, "He told me because we care about you." he insisted.

Lily shook her head, "Since when? I don't want your empathy, I'm not trapped, I'm not weak. If I wanted to leave I would."

"No, you wouldn't. Mother, he had you in his hold. When we were younger, I understood why you stayed, but now, you have no reason to." Damon argued.

"I love him, that's a reason." she said her face growing angrier.

Stefan stepped a bit closer, "That's not a good enough reason. He's hurting you, love doesn't compensate for someone who's terrible."

"I know he's hurting me, and he's terrible but I can't just leave! What do you want me to do?" Lily asked, a little louder.

Her sons had so much anger, care, worry, and sadness in their eyes that it was making her heart break. But she was stuck, despite what she said. Once second she had the strength to leave Giuseppe, the next she was convincing herself it was all her fault, or that he loved her. It was a never ending circle of confusion.

"Just come stay with us, if you won't file a report." Stefan suggested.

"No." she said all too quickly.

Damon, who was battling with being sober for even just a few hours, and the anger bubbling up around his skin, was having a hard time keeping his temper in control.

"No? No?!" he asked loudly, inhaled deeply.

"We are trying to help you!" he yelled and Lily took a frightened step back.

Stefan moved in front of his brother and put his hands on his shoulder.

"You need to calm down now." he said slowly.

Damon shoved his brother away from him, and turned walking away. He couldn't take the aching in his veins, his shaking hands, his thirst for his addiction.

"Damon! Where are you going?" Stefan called after him, but he didn't reply.

Lily sighed, "Let him go." she said but when Stefan turned to look at her, she'd left him and walked into the cafe.

Stefan sighed putting his hands in the air for a second.

"Yeah, okay, everyone just leave at the same time." he huffed.

Stefan looked down the road, but no longer saw his brother.

He shoved his hands in his pockets again and started down the road, walking, leaving Damon's car there, since he didn't have to keys.

As it got darker, and the snow fall became thicker, he checked every single bar, club and restaurant on the street and the next over.

As he rounded the corner of the 3rd street, he sighed, and noticed the people chatting, laughing way to loud outside of one of the first bars.

"Please, be in here." Stefan whispered to himself and pushed his way through the crowd in front of the door before going in.

Exhaling he looked around and finally saw Damon at the bar, with his chin in his hand, downing what was probably his 7th too many drinks.

Stefan walked over and grabbed his arm.

"What do you want?" Damon asked, looking at him, clearly intoxicated.

"You. I'm taking you home." he said and pulled down out of of the bar stool.

Damon grumbled, "I don't want to go home."

Stefan sighed, "Lucky for you, you get to stumble down 3 street before we get to the car, where are your keys?"

Damon didn't answer for Stefan had to reach into his brothers jean pocket and pull them out.

Damon fought him a bit, but he finally got him out of the bar and started down the sidewalk.

"You are messed up." Stefan commented, and Damon yanked away from him.

"I'm not going to take any of.. of.. this from y-yoou, Stefan." he huffed as they rounded the corner to the next street.

"Really? I'm the one dragging your drunk ass to the car, and you're dealing with me?" Stefan asked, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, okay. I never asked you to deal with me." Damon argued and continued walking down the sidewalk.

"If it's any consolation, _I don't care_." Stefan glared over at his brother, annoyed.

Damon continued walking, or staggering in reality until they were finally at the car and Stefan had to guide him to the passenger seat.

Damon at least had enough sense to buckle and after Stefan got in they headed down the road.

"You realize Bonnie's going to be upset, right?" Stefan asked looking over at him.

Damon raked his fingers through his hair, "I'm fine!"

Stefan decided to shut up and keep his eyes on the road, and as they were pulling into the driveway a bit later, he noticed Damon pulling a bottle of alcohol from his coat pocket and he rolled his eyes.

"No, you don't need any more." he said and reached over yanking it from his brothers hands and opened the car door, stepping out.

It took Damon a few second to undo his belt but he eventually got out the car too.

"Hey!" he yelled when Stefan tossed the bottle across the driveway and it smashed against the ground.

"Hey!" Stefan yelled back at him, about done with Damon's shit.

"You need to get a hold of yourself and get inside, and go to bed. Bonnie's probably worried sick. In hindsight I should have called her, but we can't change it now." he huffed and shoved Damon's shoulder making him walk towards the estate.

Bonnie was in bed again, twiddling her fingers with the light on and staring at the clock across the room. The entire day, without a single word of where Damon was, or Stefan, since she realized they both gone. She wouldn't have normally noticed Stefan was there or not, but considering Alice said they left together, she was even more worried.

She heard the door open and desperately wished she could get up and walk to see if it was Damon and Stefan.

It was almost 11pm, and Bonnie had spent the day worrying, watching TV and setting up her first physical therapy appointment for the next day.

"Hello?" she called out of the open door and there was a shuffling, kind of stomping sound as Damon made his way of the stairs and the second he was in the door way her heart fell downwards.

She sighed, "You're drunk."

"Does it matter?" Damon asked tossing his phone across the room and it landed on the floor.

"Yeah, it matter." Bonnie said slowly, watching him walk slowly, swaying a bit until he was 5 feet from the door.

"Why? Why did you just leave, and then go drink. You told me you had it under control." she spoke from the bed, although she knew he wasn't going to be able to answer her legitimately.

"I do!" Damon insisted getting loud with her, still pissed off at Stefan.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "No, you don't!" she half yelled back at him, although it was difficult for her.

"Yeah, I do. What's it matter anymore, and anyway..." he inhaled waves his arms around angrily.

"Don't yell at me!" she yelled and he stumbled backwards once.

"I'm just... I can't, everybody is telling me what to do." Damon growled and turned, walking out of the room.

"No, Damon!" she inhaled and tried to turn to get off the bed, but obviously this didn't work.

Bonnie fell out of the bed as he went down the stairs.

"Damnit!" she cursed, face down on the floor.

Stefan walked in a second later, "Bonnie, are you alright?" he asked, and she groaned.

"I fell." Bonnie explained, and he slowly helped her back on the bed.

"I should've just kept Damon downstairs." he sighed and she frowned.

Suddenly the front door slammed closed and Stefan blinked.

"I'll go get him." he said but Bonnie stopped him.

"No, you've done enough." she said with a sigh and grabbed her phone, clicking Enzo's contact.

Enzo answered a few seconds later.

"Bonnie, is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Damon's drunk, and went out the front door, angry. I don't know what's going on with him, but I don't want him getting hit by a car," she sighed.

Enzo cursed in a muffle on the other end, "I'll find him." he told her.

"Thank you, Enzo." Bonnie said quietly before hanging up and leaning back in bed.

* * *

Enzo drove slowly down the road, looking for Damon.

The last thing he thought he was going to have to do was find his best friend along the side of the road. But it was better than finding him flat in the middle of the road. He knew that Damon couldn't have gotten too far.

He was thankfully correct.

Enzo spotted Damon leaning up against a tree along the road line and he pulled his car over getting out.

"What the hell, mate?" he asked, spreading his arms out.

Damon waved him off, kicking at the ground.

"You can't just get hammered and wonder out into the wilderness!" Enzo shook his head and continued walking towards him.

"I'll do whatever I want." Damon said back as his friend stopped in front of him.

Enzo clenched his jaw, "No, you won't. Because what you want, is going to get you killed."

Damon reached forward and showed Enzo away. This was a terrible move, because sober Damon knew Enzo hated people hitting or shoving him.

Enzo didn't brush it off, or tell Damon to stop touching him, rather he shoved him right back, knocking Damon's head against the tree.

"You want to fight? Because I'll fight you." Enzo glared at him.

"I want you to l-leave me be!" Damon yelled.

Enzo inhaled, "That isn't going to happen!"

Damon wailed his fist upwards, striking Enzo in the face. Enzo came swinging directly back at him, and there was a much more audible sound when Damon was hit.

"Fuck!" Damon huffed.

"You need to get your shit together, Bonnie is at home worrying about you." he said to him.

Damon glared back at him, "You're not doing this for me. I saw.. I saw the way you looked at her at the hospital e-every day. I see the way you look at her now."

Enzo sighed, "Maybe I do fancy her a bit, but she's not mine. She's yours."

Damon growled a bit and shoved Enzo backwards again.

Enzo grabbed the front of Damon's black button up shirt with both hands.

"You have a wife at home, who just got out of a coma, and yet she just wants to help you, Damon." he said right in his face.

"So, you need to get your fucking shit together, and face the fact that you need help." he got a little louder, holding Damon's shirt tighter, and Damon's eyes were wide.

"You're going to get your ass in that car, I'm going to take you back to my place, and you're going to get sober, go back home, apologize to Bonnie, and I swear to God if I have to pick you up off the side of the road again I will kick you so hard, you won't remember your own name!" Enzo yelled at him before letting go of Damon's shirt.

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked as Enzo was walking towards his car and opening the passenger side down.

"Because I care about you, now get in the bloody car!" he yelled and Damon wasted no time rushing over and getting into the car.

Damon was quiet as they drove to Enzo's apartment, and once they were inside, Enzo made a pot of decaf, and forced Damon to drink two cups before he was even aloud to talk again.

"You piss me off you know that." Enzo grumbled sitting down on the couch.

"Yet, you still came a got me." Damon said, sobering up a bit, drinking his third cup.

"Because I'm an idiot is why." he replied and shook his head.

Damon looked over at him, "No it's because you love me."

Enzo gave him a weird look, "You better still be drunk." he whispered and took Damon's mug, filling it with more coffee.

"Well, that hurt." he sighed and took the mug, taking a big gulp.

"You know you're not okay, right?" Enzo asked after a moment.

Damon sighed, "I'm aware." he looked down, his head clearing a bit.

"So why are you fighting getting help?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

Damon didn't reply, just continued drinking coffee, the more sober he got, the more his chest hurt, the more he realized his problem, and the more he felt weak.

By the time Enzo was able to drop him back off at home, it was three in the morning, and only a few lights were on.

Damon didn't know if Bonnie was awake, but as he walked up the stairs, he felt broken. It was a terrible, ridiculous feeling that he hated more than anything. Feeling so desperate, made him feel weak, and being weak was something his father had beaten out of him at one point in his childhood.

 _If you're weak, you're not a man._

If you're not a man, what good are you?

The sexist words of a terrible father.

But most of all,

 _If you're good for nothing, why try?_

These ideals that Damon could be broken, he couldn't be weak, he couldn't be hurt, were in his brain even though he knew they were wrong and as he walked into the bedroom, Bonnie was lying down but her eyes were open as she stared at the ceiling.

"Bonnie." he said quietly, clearing his throat and looking at her through the dimness, the light was turned on low, leaving an orange glow through the room.

She was tired, fighting closing her eyes but the second she heard his voice she shoved herself upstairs and winced at the pain.

"Damon." she said slowly, eyeing him.

He wasn't stumbling, and he was clearly sober, but his eyes held a sadness.

"I.." he starting, taking a tired breath, "I'm sorry." he said stopping her side of the bed.

Bonnie looked up at him, any anger she'd had before melted into a puddle of sadness as she looked at his face.

"I should've told you, I should've told someone." Damon breathed.

"Yes, you should have." she agreed, her forehead creasing.

Damon felt like he was going to fall, and was desperately trying to hold himself together.

"You were in the coma, and I.. I tried to tell myself I could do it. But I.." he swallowed, "I fell into it again, and I told myself I was fine, I kept telling myself I was fine."

Bonnie watched as the tall mans eyes filled with tears and she inhaled, reaching a hand out for him.

"I fucked up. Bonnie I..." he whispered and when he couldn't find anymore words he sunk to his knee's leaning against the bed.

"Damon, you'll be okay." she said slowly, trying to keep herself from bursting into tears.

"I'm not okay." Damon choked out, tears rushed down his face and he leaned against the bed like if he didn't he'd fall apart.

Bonnie couldn't handle seeing him cry and pushed through the pain, scooting closed and wrapped her arms around around his head, her hands on his hair.

"It's okay." she repeated, and he started to sob.

This wasn't a man who was okay, or even a man who had been okay at all in the duration of the last three weeks. This was a man who had been forcing his weakness back, and feeding at his addiction so he didn't have to feel.

"You didn't sign up for this, y-you shouldn't have to deal with this." Damon cried, and it wasn't a few tears, a cry you'd see on television where a single tears rolls down. He was sobbing, his entire body was shaking, his face contorted as he pressed it against Bonnie's arm and the bed.

"I'm fucking falling a-apart." he sobbed, and Bonnie held onto him tight, her own eyes filling with tears.

"You don't have to deal with me you.. y." Damon inhaled trying to breathe but it was near impossible, "You don't deserve this."

Bonnie inhaled, shaky and her tears escaped her lash line.

"Don't, shh, don't say that. I'm always here for you." she insisted.

She pulled herself closer to him and pressed her face against his hair as she held him.

"I need help." Damon cried, his heart aching.

"I'll help you." Bonnie whispered, closing her eyes, swallowing hard.

Damon shook harder and it only made her tears flow steadier. She did her best not to make him aware that she was crying too.

"I.." he started, talking through his heavy breathes, and his sobs, "I f-found out Giuseppe's been abusing my mother." he inhaled again.

Bonnie's eyes opened, "W-what?" she asked his heart breaking further.

"He's been hurting...h-her for years." Damon told her, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, a small noise coming from her throat and Damon moved his arms upwards so he could hold her too.

Damon inhaled, "No, I-I'm so sorry."

Bonnie tugged on Damon upwards, and he moved upward slicing onto the bed and she pulled him into her arms, leaning backwards, his head was against her shoulder and chest. With her arms still around him, he continued to cry.  
Damon breathed against her shirt and she caressed his hair, closing her eyes, leaning her head against his.

Damon's crying settled down a bit, but she could feel his tears soaking into her skin, and Damon felt her tears along his hair.

"I'm not okay." he said hoarsely, resting completely in her arms, vulnerable.

It was at this moment, that Bonnie finally knew the meaning of, 'you're my heart'.

"I know, baby." she whispered against his hair.

* * *

Please **_leave a review_**!


	16. Detoxing The Cradle

**A/N:** To avoid any confusion, if you look back to chapter 2, you will see that Melanie is infact mentioned briefly.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 16** – Detoxing The Cradle_

The sun was just barely rising outside, leaving a glow against the dark curtains of his windows as Damon lay on his back. Bonnie's head was resting on his shoulder, her face squished a little, soft snores coming from her nose.

His blue eyes flickered along her face, he'd been watching her for a solid hour and a half, with no plans in changing this. Damon's arm was a bit numb, but he didn't dare move her, nor did he want to. Bonnie's face was still a little damp, her nose red, and her lips plump. It made his heart ache, knowing she had been crying as well, but at the same time, for one of the first times, he felt like someone understood how he felt. Pain was something no one enjoyed, and her certainly was no different than anyone else. The difference was, for Damon, pain and suffering was something he was told he wasn't allowed to convey.

Damon lifted a hand and brushed a curly lock of her hair away from her face, and licked at his lips. His head ached, his hands were starting their routine shaking, and he felt a little out of breath. But, her skin was calming, and seeing Bonnie so peaceful, brought some peace to him.

Bonnie roused from her sleep with a small gasp, her lips moving, and her hand that was placed on his shoulder, twitched.

"Shh, go back to sleep." he whispered, but her eyes fluttered open.

Bonnie looked straight into Damon's jawline, her vision blurry and blinked several more times, shifting her eyes up to look at his nose, which was as far as she could see without her eyes rolling back in her head.

"Did you get any sleep?" Bonnie asked, her voice groggy, her nose stuffed.

Damon pursed his lips, "A few hours." he replied.

Bonnie scooted her body closer to his, and put her whole arm over his chest, her hand resting on the other shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'm shaky, and I want to jog downstairs to the alcohol cabinet, if I'm being honest." he told her, and watched her forehead crease.

"I'm sorry." Damon sighed, looking away from her and up at the ceiling.

Bonnie caressed his shoulder with her thumb, "No, don't be. I want you to be honest with me." she insisted.

"I will be, about everything." he assured her and turned his head back to look at her.

Damon's eyes were red, still a little wet, and he looked tired, which was understandable.

"I think we should, really talk about what we're going to do as soon as possible." Bonnie suggested and he nodded.

"I'm going through withdrawal, so I'll need detox, and possibly medication to help with that, therapy." Damon said slowly, and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to know what you're talking about, have you researched it or something?" she asked, and he pursed his lips.

"Not exactly." he said and she blinked, still trying to wake up all the way.

Bonnie cleared her throat before speaking, "I think it's a really big step, that you're taking already by just admitting that you have a problem and need help."

Damon nodded, "I'm nervous, to put it lightly."

"Perhaps, going to a rehab for a few days might, be a good idea." she said slowly, and watched his blue eyes fill will more anxiety.

"I..don't.. I don't know." he swallowed, his heart picking up it's pace.

Bonnie tilted her head up a bit more so she could look at him straighter.

"I don't know if I'm ready, for that." Damon continued, thinking about being away from Bonnie, with people he didn't know, doctors he didn't know.

"It's okay, we don't need to decide now." she reminded him, seeing that he was getting a little more anxious.

Damon inhaled.

"I'm not usually so..." he said, not able to find the words, just waved his hand around.

"It's just anxiety, from the withdrawal." Bonnie said slowly, and ran her hand along his chest in a circle.

Damon nodded, "You.. you have anxiety? At least you did at the wedding." he said, remembering this, and she paused her rubbing, before sighing.

"I suffered from depression, and anxiety for a while after my mother left my dad and I." she explained, "It still follows me around sometimes I guess."

His eyes flickered over her face.

"Have you ever talked to anyone abut that?" Damon asked, trying to get his mind off the restlessness he was having in his hands and legs.

Bonnie looked away from him for a moment, at his chest.

"Not really..." she admitted.

"May I ask why?" he asked, shifting his arm, moving it so he could hold her more.

Bonnie pressed her face against his shoulder again.

"Denial, I suppose." she mumbled.

Damon licked at his lips, "I guess that's something we both share."

Bonnie swallowed, her eyes a little teary as she looked back up at him, but she chuckled,

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"Though, I am probably worse off than you." he sighed and shook his head.

"Don't say that..." she started, "We both have issues." she smiled a little, invoking a small smile out of him.

Something about Bonnie, made him fee less worried. She could turn anything into a positive situation, turn something that should be painful, into humor. Even if it was only the beginning, he felt like he would get better as long as he had her support.

"I'm sorry about... your father hurting Lily." Bonnie said slowly, feeling like that whole sistuation answered a few of her questions, but she was still curious, and kind of frustrated about it all. So, she could imagine how Damon felt.

"As am I... I tried to get her to get away from him, but she won't listen." Damon shook his head.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here." she reminded him, and he brushed her hair behind her ear, but was quiet.

"Would you like to come to my physical therapy with me today?" Bonnie asked after a second.

Damon turned his head some more towards her, "Of course." he said, surprised she'd even have to ask.

"I just don't want you to go anywhere if you don't feel put together enough." she said slowly, and Damon quickly realized, she was talking about his withdrawal and mental health.

"I'll be alright." he insisted, although he wasn't entirely sure himself, his heart felt like it was squeezing in his chest with each beat.

Bonnie moved her hand to the side of his face and caressed along his facial hair which he hadn't shaved yet.

"I know, you will be." she said softly, and Damon's lips turned up at the edges. He knew that she meant in the long run, and this was something he needed to hear.

Beyond admitting that he had a problem, he also needed to believe that he'd be okay eventually.

Bonnie leaned upwards, and pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes, and ignoring the small pain from the bruises still on her shoulders and arms.

Damon closed his eyes, and returned her soft kiss. Once the kiss broke, she pressed her forehead against his cheek, and just lay there.

"Did you call me, 'baby', last night?" he asked, remembering this, and he felt Bonnie's face flush against his skin.

"I did." she replied, and Damon brought his free hand over, taking her chin softly in his fingers and tilting it back upwards.

He pressed his lips against hers again, in such a warm way that Bonnie shivered, her body nearly melting against his.

"Mine." he whispered, and she smiled turning her head and nuzzling it against his neck.

Bonnie breath was against his neck, and this did things to him that he would have acted on had he not been going through withdrawal, and she wasn't still healing from her injuries.

Damon swallowed, feeling shaky again and his stomach hurt.

Bonnie lifted her head, noticing Damon's distress and frowned.

"While we are at my therapy later, I'll have the staff clear out any alcohol you can get too." she suggested and he nodded.

"That would be a good idea." he agreed, taking her hand and she squeezed his.

It was obvious Damon was struggling to keep himself together, so Bonnie slowly sat up in bed.

Damon sat up as well, putting an arm behind her, not wanting her to hurt herself.

"Look at you, worrying about me when you're recovering." she chuckled and leaned against his arm a bit.

"You just got out of a coma, of course I am worrying." he said slowly and scooted closer.

Bonnie called for Alice, and several minutes later, the woman came in the door and stood several feet from the bed.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" she asked, looking worried, and Bonnie figured she'd found out about Damon's incident.

"Will you make Damon and I some herbal tea please? Bring it to the living room, also get Xavier for me." Bonnie asked of her, and she nodded.

"Of course." Alice smiled a bit and headed out of the room.

Damon furrowed his brow and looked at his wife.

"I can carry you downstairs, you know." he said and Bonnie bit at her lip.

"No offense..." she started and lifted a hand to touch his face, "But you're shaking like a leaf, and I would feel safer with you not carrying me right now." she said honestly, and Damon sighed, looking at his hands, which were indeed almost vibrating.

"I'm a mess." Damon mumbled, looking away from her.

"Yeah." Bonnie said slowly, and when he looked back at her, she was smiling.

"Oh, thanks." he shook his head, and she tilted her head to the side.

"Any time big guy." she replied, and he leaned down with a chuckle, kissing her lips softly.

Bonnie groaned and he broke the kiss, opening his eyes to look at her.

"What is it?" he asked, thinking he'd hurt her or something.

"I can't wait till you don't have to be so gentle with me." she admitted, furrowing her brow.

"You don't like it?" Damon inquired, eyes scanning her face.

Bonnie blinked, "Oh, no. I just..." she started, her face flushing, and she couldn't figure out what she was going to say, feeling flustered.

Damon leaned his forehead against hers, "Trust me, Bonbon, we want the same thing, I'm sure." he whispered, and she bit at her lip.

"Bonbon?" Bonnie asked, lips tugging up at the corners.

"Is that alright?" he asked her.

She moved one arm over his shoulder.

"More than alright." she replied, just as Xavier walked in the room.

* * *

Later that night, Damon was wheeling Bonnie into physical therapy, Stefan had happily drove them there, but left to hang out somewhere else for a while since only one other person was allowed with Bonnie at a time.

"You alright?" he asked as they sat in the lobby, waiting for her to be called in.

Bonnie nodded, her hair pulled up into a pony tail.

"I'm a little nervous." she inhaled and chewed at her lips.

Damon himself was shaking a bit, the tea and breakfast as well as lunch had helped, but he was still on edge. However, he wanted to be there for Bonnie. He felt like he had to be, and after three weeks of not seeing her move, hearing her voice, he didn't want to miss any more of it.

"Bonnie Salvatore?" a woman called from the open door of the physical therapy room.

Damon stood up, and wheeled Bonnie over, and into the room.

"My name is Haley, I'll be your physical therapist for the next few weeks, or as long as you need me." the grown haired woman smiled. She didn't look too much older than Bonnie.

They stopped in one corner of the room, and Damon sat down in a chair along one wall.

"Today I just want to test your range of motion, do a few stretching exercises." Haley explained and helped Bonnie onto a table with dark black padding.

Bonnie winced a bit.

"Is it alright if I take your shoes off?" the woman asked and she nodded.

Once her shoes were off, Haley asked her to move her feet in a circle, up, down, to the sides. This was easy, however when she was asked to move her leg up in a similar motion, this was more difficult.

"Alright, lets do the other leg, and then we can do some stretching." Haley suggested.

Damon watched as Bonnie went through her stretching and spoke with Haley. He was having a hard time concentrating, tapping his foot against the floor, bouncing his knee.

"How has she been at home?" the woman asked after a second and Damon had to blinked several times to focus.

"Uh.." he cleared his throat, "Alright, I.. suppose, I think." he replied, and Haley raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know how your wife has been doing?" she asked, with a hint of condescension.

Damon swallowed, "Of course, I do. She's only been home for about three days." he explained.

Haley nodded, looked away from him, moving Bonnie's ankle around slowly.

Bonnie's eyes flickered up from Haley to Damon.

"Can you, tell me then, how much pain medication she'd been taking for the last three days?" Haley asked, breaking the silence, "Or, perhaps how many times she wakes up in the night? Anything at all you've noticed about her recovery since she'd been home?"

Damon looked at her with a blank, "She's, been in pain, I know that at least." he replied.

Haley chuckled, "But, other than that, you're at a loss, right?" she asked this, rhetorically, more judgment in her eyes and it was obvious that she thought of him as every other rich husband.

That he hardly paid attention to his wife, he was too busy, too caught up to keep simple tabs.

"He's been suffering with his own demons." Bonnie said slowly, looking at Haley, who raised he eyebrows in one quick motion, moving to the other leg.

"I was in a coma for three weeks, he's allowed to be a bit out of his head." she continued, defending him.

However, as she talked, Damon was slowly zoning out, he could practically hear his heart beating in his ears.

Was Haley's implied judgment right?

Damon had been thinking only of himself while pouring those drinks down his throat until he got the point where he couldn't think straight without one. While he should have been at home, with Bonnie he was out getting drunk to the point of yelling at her, at his brother, his best friend.

Was Haley's assumption that Damon was just another lacking husband, true?

He didn't know but ht couldn't it out of his head, it was eating at him from the inside how and his hands were shaking, his foot was tapping, he was swallowing, he was breathing heavy.

Everything around him was spinning, he felt like he was going insane.

"Damon?" Bonnie asked, noticing the look on Damon's face, he was shaking, and without warning he shot up from his seat rushed out of the room into the hallway on the side.

"I'm sorry, I need to, go to him." she said to Haley who sighed, but nodded and helped her back in her chair, pushing her across the room and out of the door.

"I think I can push myself from here." Bonnie said, hoping she was right, and Haley left her, going back into the room.

Bonnie haled, and put her hands on the wheels, using her strength to roll herself down the hallway. It was a bit of a struggle, but after a few tries, she was getting the hang of it.

Roll, glide, roll, glide. If she rolled hard enough, she could glide for a few paces before having to push off again.

Damon was leaning against a wall around the corner, breathing heavily, his hands shaking as he tried to get a grip.

"Damon." Bonnie said, with wide eyes as she rolled around the corner.

Damon swallowed hard and look at her, "I'm..." he tried to talk but it wasn't working very well, he wanted to tell her he was okay but even this was a lie, he didn't have the breath to lie, and he didn't want to lie either.

Bonnie rolled a little closed to him and reached over touching his hand that was near his side.

"It's okay." she told him, but he didn't look like he believed her.

"I feel like I'm dying." Damon put his hand on his head and then on his chest.

"It's okay, you're okay." Bonnie repeated, and grasped his hand.

Damon squatted down so he was at level with her and inhaled deeply.

"I can't breathe." he insisted, but she put her other hand on his hair.

"You're breathing right now." she reminded him, and caressed his hair.

He leaned forward, pressing his face against her knee and closed his eyes.

"I'm not okay, I'm not going to be okay, I can't..." he choked, and she swallowed, trying to keep a hold of herself so she could help him.

"Yes you are, you're okay." Bonnie assured him, continuing to run her fingers along his hair until he was breathing a little slower, and was quiet.

"Do you feel better?" she asked quietly, but didn't make him move where he was leaning against.

Damon inhaled, gathering his thoughts.

"Like a mess." he replied, and Bonnie frowned, caressing his hair.

"How many times have you been a real, true mess in your 25 years of life?" she asked him slowly.

Damon sighed, "About zero."

"Then, you're due." Bonnie told him and his invoked a small breathy, tired chuckle.

"You're too supportive." he said, lifting his head to look up at her.

"I know, you're hesitant." she started, "...but I think perhaps going through a detox, would be helpful. There's a clinic, you'd only be there a few days to a week."

Damon swallowed, trying to ignore the panic that was crawling along his skin.

"Do you think it really would help me?" he asked her.

Bonnie nodded, "I think it would. It could keep you from having to stay for a longer period of time at a rehab."

"One week at a clinic is better than months at a rehab." he nodded, trying to think rationally.

"Plus, I think I can't help you with your anxiety, as much as you need right now." she admitted, furrowing her brow.

Damon sighed and held her hand, "You shouldn't have too..."

"I am here for you." Bonnie reminded him.

"I'll go, if it's what's best for me, then we can check me into the clinic tonight." Damon agreed and she smiled a bit.

"I should probably call Stefan then, ask him to pack a few outfits for you, then come back and pick us up?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I'm sorry I messed up your meeting." Damon sighed and she shook her head.

"It's alright, I have my next appointment. Let's roll on out of here, and get some fresh air, okay?" Bonnie asked and he leaned forward, kissed her nose before standing up and moving around to wheel them down the hallway.

Once they had set up her next appointment, they wheeled out to the front of the building in the cool air, and Damon closed his eyes, trying to just focus on breathing as Bonnie called Stefan.

"Hello, Stefan?" Bonnie asked when the ringing ceased.

"Hey, you guys ready to be picked up?" Stefan asked, and she could hear the sound of the wind blowing as he drove.

"Not exactly." she started, "Could you go the house and pick up a few casual outfits for Damon?" she questioned.

Stefan paused for a second, "Um, sure, can I ask why?"

"Well, he's going to check himself into a clinic for a few days to detox." Bonnie explained.

"Oh, wow. Sure, I'll go and get some things for him and I'll be there soon." he told her.

"Thank you." she said before hanging up the phone and placing it back in her coat pocket.

Damon leaned back on his heels for a second, then forward.

"Did he seem surprised?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, I think he sounded a little surprised, but in a good way." Bonnie told him.

Damon raked his fingers through his hair and put his other hand along the back of her wheel chair.

Finally Stefan was there and they were all off on the road.

It was quiet and no one was sure what to day, but honestly the absence of voices and just the sound of the car going down the road was more calming for Damon than he'd realized.

He'd never dealt with any of his problems so seriously, unless his problem was a woman. Perhaps that was one of the roots of all of his issues, never dealing with any of his trauma, including but not limited too his father.

Damon looked behind him, seeing Bonnie distracted, staring at the window and pursed his lips.

"Will you keep an eye on her while I'm gone?" he asked, and Stefan looked over at him for a second from the wheel.

"Of course, I'll also get Enzo, in case I get called away." Stefan suggested and Damon nodded, although he wasn't so sure how he felt about his best friend watching over Bonnie.

After all, he'd admitted to having feelings for her. That might've been something Damon should have mentioned to Bonnie.

"On the off chance, Giuseppe shows up, I do not want him near her." Damon continued.

"I agree, if he shows up I'll get rid of him." he replied, just as they pulled into the park lot of the inpatient clinic.

'That ride was shorter than I expected." Bonnie pursed her lips, feeling a little nervous herself about just leaving Damon there.

Stefan and Damon got out the car, Damon carrying his bag and grabbed her chair out of the trunk, before helping her out of the car.

Bonnie was unusually quiet as Damon wheeled her along, the sky dark, stars peeking out along the clouds.

The double doors of the clinic opened on their own and they continued inside.

Damon inhaled as they got to the front desk.

"Hi, can I help you?" the woman asked, her name tag saying 'Trisha.'

"I'm here to, check myself in for a detoxification treatment." Damon replied, his heart beating hard in his chest.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Damon Salvatore." he replied, and her eyes widened a little as though she knew who he was and he instantly had to refraining from groaning.

Could he not go anywhere without someone knowing who he was?

"Don't worry, we don't permit journalists or paparazzi and everything is confidential." Trisha ensured him and Bonnie sighed, relieved.

"Alcoholism or drug use?" she asked.

"Alcoholism." Damon said slowly, the word burning in his brain.

"How long have you had the problem?" Trisha questioned.

Damon inhaled, "I've been drinking for four years at the most, it became a noticeable problem over the last three weeks." his hands were shaking again, so Bonnie reached over and held it.

"Okay." Trisha said and grabbed several forms, fastening them to the clip board with a pen and handed them to him.

"Fill these out, and return them to the desk."

Damon nodded and Stefan wheeled bonnie over to the waiting room while Damon walked beside them.

Damon down down in a chair near Bonnie and started filling out the paper

"You know, this is a really good step you're taking." Stefan said after a moment, looking over at his brother.

"I sure hope so." he replied, looking up from the clipboard.

Bonnie licked at her lips, "Stefan, do you have any.. problems?" she asked casually.

Stefan pursed his lips, "I used to struggle with, some things. But, I got help earlier on, I've been going to therapy once a month, it used to be once a week, since I was eight teen."

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that." she said eyes widened, "That's really brave of you."

Damon flicked the page over filling out the second one, as they spoke.

"Thank you..." Stefan smiled a bit, "Damon's always been more stubborn than me, so I'm not surprised it's taken him this long to finally get some help.

Damon rolled his eyes, "I'm right here."

Bonnie chuckled, "You're getting help, that's all that matters."

Once Damon finished filling out the papers, he walked them back over to the desk and was told he could head back to the rooms with one of the staff when he was ready.

He walked over to Bonnie and Stefan.

"I guess this is where you leave me." he sighed and Bonnie frowned.

"When you put it like that, it sounds sad." she shook her head.

Damon bit his lips, "I'll try and call you, if they let me."

Stefan looked at his brother a little amused, but mostly proud.

"It's a clinic, not prison, brother." he said and touched his arm for a second.  
"Thanks for the support." Damon teased, and gave his brother a loving shoulder grip before turning back to Bonnie.

He sunk downwards so he was eye level with her and she smiled a little.

"I'll miss you." Bonnie whispered, and touched her face.

"I will miss you more." Damon said quietly, and leaned forward pressing his lips against hers.

Bonnie kissed him back softly, and they both ignored the huge grin Stefan was wearing as he looked at them.

"Don't feel guilty for not being at home, I will still be there when you get back." she assured him as the kiss broke.

Damon nodded, "I know." he smiled, his eyes a little misty and he tried to ignore that.

Bonnie inhaled, "See you soon."

Damon stood back up and gave his brother a simple nod before turning around and disappearing down the corner of the hallway before their eyes with his bag.

Stefan wheeled Bonnie back out of the building and soon they were in the car, Bonnie in the passenger seat.

"You're good for Damon, you know." Stefan said after a second, looking over at her.

She looked over at him curiously, "Am I?"

"Extremely. I've never seen anyone who could get through to him like you." he replied, with a small smile.

"So, he's always been a bit troublesome?" Bonnie asked.

"For the most part. We both have, me a little less than him, at least the past few years." Stefan explained.

"But, it's not just that..." he continued, "He seems to really care about you."

Bonnie nodded, "He's never seemed that way with anyone else?"

Stefan exhaled, thinking.

"Well, Lucia. He really loved her." he said slowly, "But, she was and probably still isn't someone he needed. Lucia was enabling of his habits."

Bonnie blinked, "I met her, on our honeymoon at the Onyx, we ran into her."

Stefan scoffed, "Seriously? I can't imagine how awkward that was."

Bonnie nodded, "It was awkward, among other things. She tried to get him to sleep with her, she gave him her room card."

"Yeah, that sounds like her." he agreed, "Lucia was like, the epitome of Damon's problems. The second he thought she was changing, that she actually wanted to settle down with him, she'd disappear for a few weeks and come back wearing a thousands of dollars in a congressman's money."

"Yeah, Damon told me he wanted to marry her, she sounds and seemed terrible." Bonnie shook her head.

Stefan nodded, "I could not stand her, ironically, neither could our mother."

Bonnie smiled, "Really? I thought she just didn't like me."

"Oh, no. She's never gotten along with anyone, but honestly, I think that has to do with our father." he sighed.

"I heard about, Giuseppe." she said slowly, and Stefan knew what she meant but didn't expand on it.

He honestly didn't want too. Talking about it was something he wanted to avoid, especially while driving.

"So, not to intrude, but have you ever wanted to marry someone? I know, your ex Kai was at the hospital." Stefan asked and Bonnie sighed.

"Damon told me about Kai being there." she said slowly and looked at her lap.

"But, no I've never wanted to marry someone before. I was with Kai for a year, but at that point in my life I hardly thought about anything but ballet." Bonnie explained.

Stefan nodded, listening.

"Kai was the longest and most serious relationship I ever had, but it wasn't as serious as it could've been I guess." she continued.

"So, you never saw a future with him?" he asked.

"No, I didn't, not really." Bonnie answered, furrowing her brow.

"Is that a terrible thing?" she questioned.

Stefan shook his head, driving with on hand on the wheel.

"No. When you're not with the right person, you're just not." he assured her.

"But, can I ask why you stayed with him so long if you didn't see a future?" he inquired.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "I don't know, it's kind of a blur now. I just remember feeling comfortable, he was there when I would get out of class. It wasn't that I didn't care about him, I loved him." she insisted, "I just didn't love him enough to want to be with him forever, but I cared too much to leave."

Stefan nodded slowly, "But when he got into the fight and put in prison, you ended it."

Bonnie raised her brows, "How do you know about that?"

"Caroline told me." he explained and she chuckled.

"You two are talking casually now?" she asked.

"Well, sure I guess." Stefan cleared his throat.

Bonnie smiled a little, but kept her mouth shut on that subject.

* * *

Damon was set up in a room with a twin bed, and honesty for the most part it looked like a hotel room, but with several machines and no television.

For a thousand dollars out of pocket a day, he was just glad it looked pretty comfortable and didn't have that hospital smell. His room actually kind of smelt like vanilla.

"Mr. Salvatore?" a male doctor asked from the doorway.

"Yes." he said turning around, with his hands in his jean pockets to keep them from vibrating off his body entirely.

"Have a seat, I'm Dr. Josephs." he said and motioned Damon to sit on the bed.

Damon sat down and the doctor pulled a chair over sitting down near him.

"I see you're hear because of alcohol abuse. You've been drinking for four years, but it's only been a noticeable problem for the last three weeks?" Dr. Josephs asked.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I wasn't so great with handling before but, the last three weeks, it's been a coping mechanism, more or less." he replied and the doctor nodded writing on his clipboard.

"What's changed, in the last three weeks?" he asked.

Damon licked his lips, "Well, my wife was in a coma until a few days ago, for three weeks."

The doctor blinked and nodded, "That would definitely cause a heavy emotional response, using alcohol as something to soothe those emotions is common."

"Yes, I feel as though, I was using it, to get rid of my fears about her possibly not coming back, for the most part." he said slowly.

Dr. Josephs wrote on his clipboard.

"Are you newly weds?" he asked.

"Yes, we've been married a little over a month now." he explained.

"Let me ask, did you drink when upset, often before your marriage?" the doctor asked.

Damon sighed, "Sometimes, but never to the extent of needing it, constantly."

The doctor nodded, writing again, "Is it possible that before your marriage you were pretty closed off, when it comes to emotions, but your wife has had a more positive effect on how you express your emotions?"

Damon pursed his lips, thinking.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. I haven't been as happy as she makes me in a while. So, when she was just gone, I.. panicked." he swallowed.

"Well, since you're only in here for a detoxification program as you have requested, I won't be going very far into the reason of your alcohol abuse, but I would suggest, getting a regular therapist after you leave the clinic, or perhaps signing up for a longer inpatient stay which would include a therapist, group therapy." the doctor suggested.

He nodded, unsure of what really to say.

"Can you tell me some of your symptoms you're having since your last drink? You wrote them on the file, as well as your last drink was last night. But I'd like to hear from you." Dr. Josephs asked of him.

"Well, anxiety, panic attacks, I didn't sleep very well last night either, head aches." Damon replied and the doctor nodded, writing on the clipboard.

"I'm going to have you put on Ativan, anxiety medication, as well as sleeping medication, Trezedone. We'll slowly taper off them as they detoxification process ends, so you aren't dependent on them." he said and slowly stood up.

"Nurses will be checking on you, and making sure you're hydrated." the doctor took another look at his papers.

"Oh, it say's here that you went to Virginia School of Medicine?" Dr. Josephs questioned with a small smile.

Damon nodded, "Yeah." he replied, something that hadn't crossed his mind in a while being brought up.

 _Virginia School of Medicine._

However, that was a story for another day, a story that he'd neglected to tell anyone.

"I knew you seemed rather self aware." he chuckled.

Damon nodded at the doctor before he walked out of the room. Then he slid off his shoes and closed his door so he could change into some pajamas before sitting on the bed and twiddling his thumbs.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, honestly he was getting a little lost in his mind. Though, he couldn't remember what he was even thinking about by the time one of the nurses knocked on the door and stepped in.

"I have a sleeping pill for you, and one anxiety pill in case you need it, only take if it you feel anxious, and please don't hesitate to call someone for help if you feel unwell." she said and set the pills down in two small labeled cups on the beside table with another cup full of water.

Damon downed the sleeping pill with a gulp of water as quickly as possible, and laid down in bed after shutting his light off.

All he wanted was to sleep, and finally get some rest. Yes, rest was what he needed the most.  
After about fifteen minutes he felt kind of...cloudy, like his feet were floating and the more he paid attention to this the more he forgot everything around him.

Damon drifted off to sleep, a little twitchy, but asleep none the less.

However, when he woke up the next morning, he woke up in a gasp, sweaty and his heart pounding in his chest.

He sat up straight in bed and tossed the blanket off of his body, leaning over looking at the floor.

His hands were shaking and sweat was still leaking from along his forehead.

Damon swallowed hard and grabbed the half fill cup of water, and took a small drink.

"Jesus Christ." he whispered, feeling like he was going to fall on the floor if he shook any harder.

He grabbed the small pill from the cup and swallowed it with water.

Unfortunately, the effects weren't immediate and he was urged to stand up and pace his room, over and over, which made him feel like he was going mad.

When his room began to feel far too closed in, he walked out into the hallway and put his hands on his head, pacing five steps, turning around, pacing five steps, turning around and repeating the process while inhaling.

"Damon, are you alright?" a voice came from behind him and he gasped, a little startled, turning around to face the nurse.

"Just... I.." he exhaled.

"Did you take the Ativan?" she asked, referring to the anxiety medication.

Damon nodded, and she reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Deep breathes." she reminded him, and he inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly.

"If you would like, you can go outside to the garden, to get some air after breakfast, with a few other patients." she offered and he nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Damon took his hand down from his head and leaned against the wall.

* * *

Bonnie was wheeling around the library, trying to decide on a book to read from one of the shelves she could reach, but was having a hard time concentrating. Sleeping over night was difficult, and both her lack of sleep and lack of focus was due to worrying about Damon.

Bonnie sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

"Damon is fine." she repeated, tapping her fingers on her armrest.

However, at this moment she realized she was never going to get any book reading done. She could hardly read a book when she wasn't worried. It wasn't that she didn't love reading, she was just a bit impatient. She loved reading, but usually she could only read when she had at least a week cut out of no worries, and nothing to do.

Currently she had nothing to do, but a whole head full of worries.

Caroline was at school, and Stefan was still asleep, since it was nine in the morning.

Thankfully, as she was wheeling out of the library and through the door that Wayne had propped open for her, her phone started ringing in her lap.

Bonnie grabbed her phone, seeing the unknown number but answered anyway, desperate for some sort of interaction.

"Hello?" she asked slowly.

"Bonnie, this is Melanie, from the mall a few weeks ago. I got your number from Caroline, I hope that's okay." Melanie's voice hit Bonnie's memory.

"Oh, yeah. Melanie, hey." Bonnie replied.

"I heard from Caroline you are out of the hospital, I hope you're doing well?" Melanie asked.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Uh, yeah I'm doing okay."

"Would you like to meet for breakfast? I'm back in town staying with my brother." she offered and Bonnie smiled a bit.

"Sure, that would be nice." she agreed.

"Is the Blue Bird Diner at 10 good for you?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah, that's good." Bonnie replied.

"Alright I'll see you there." she said before hanging up.

Bonnie smiled and then pursed her lips. Well, now was a matter of how she was going to get there.  
She probably should have thought about that first. It was more than a little frustrating, not being able to just get up walk, and drive around town. It had only been four days, and she already missed being able to do everything she normally did.

Although that might have been a side product of quitting Whitmore. She was used to dancing every day, or at least every other day. So, not being able to dance, walk, run, drive. It was isolating, and she wasn't even really alone.

Continuing to wheel down the hallway, Bonnie made it to the foyer and looked around for Wayne.

"Wayne!" she called, and several moments later the man stepped into the foyer.

"Yes, Mrs. Salvatore?" Wayne asked with a smile, and she smiled back a bit.

"The Salvatore's... I mean, I.." Bonnie was trying to figure out how to word her sentence..

She exhaled, "We have personal drivers correct?"

Wayne nodded, "Yes, are you needing to go somewhere?" he asked her.

"Someone invited me to breakfast, and I can't quiet drive myself yet." Bonnie chuckled.

"Of course, I'll call for one of the drivers to come." Wayne told her and turned around, heading into another room to the land line.

Xavier the nurse came walking into the foyer not long after.

"You doing alright?" he asked her.

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah, I'm going to meet someone for breakfast."

"You could use some time out of the house." Xavier agreed just as there was a knock at the front door.  
Xavier walked over, answering it for her and Enzo came walking in.

"Oh, Enzo." Bonnie blinked, not having expected him over.

"Stefan told me Damon's at a clinic... detoxing?" Enzo asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, he'll be there for a few days, maybe a week."

Enzo smiled a bit, "Good, he could use the experience."

"Mrs. Salvatore, does the car type matter?" Wayne asked stepping out from the kitchen.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "Uh, well no."

Enzo looked at both of them, "Are you going somewhere?" he asked.

"Breakfast, with a acquaintance I guess." she explained, and then realized maybe going somewhere by her self wasn't a great idea.

"Do you want to tag along?" Bonnie asked the man.

He looked at her a bit surprised, but pulled his hands from his pockets, "I wouldn't want to impose."

"I don't think you would be, let me text her." she said and grabbed her phone.  
 _  
_ _ **Bonnie:**_ _Is it alright if I bring a friend to breakfast?_

She pursed her lips and hoped Melanie was a quick texter.

 _ **Melanie:**_ _Sure, that's fine. :)_

Bonnie smiled, "Alright, if you want to come you can."

Enzo clicked his tongue, "Ah, sure. I can drive, you don't need to get the car now." he told Wayne who shook his head but didn't complain and walked into back into the other room.

Wayne walked back out several moments later after getting off the phone and helped Bonnie put her coat and boots on.

"You ready?" Enzo asked and she nodded, wheeling herself out of the front door which he opened.

"You can wheel yourself now, that's great." he commented as they made their way towards his car.

Bonnie smiled, "I'm not completely useless anymore, no."

He chuckled, "Of course not..." he touched the back of her chair, "Slow down there speedy."

"If anything, I'm not going fast enough." she teased and once they got to his light gray car Enzo helped her into the passenger seat and then put her chair in the backseat.

"Where are we headed?" Enzo asked, looking over at her as they turned down the road.

"Blue Bird Diner." Bonnie told him.

"That's not too far, just into town." he said and turned down another road.

Bonnie nodded and looked to the right out of the window. It was sunny, and a great deal of the snow had melted, leaving the ground a mix of grass and thin snow.

It was kind of funny, how all this happened. Her marriage, her new family. One day she was living in her own world, and so were they. Now, a little over a month later and Bonnie had a new family, new friends, and new things to worry about or look forward too.

It wasn't perfect but, she was thankful for what she had, this was realizing now.

"If there is anything you want Damon to get you for Christmas, you may as well tell me now." Enzo joked after several long moments of silence.

Bonnie chuckled and then blinked.

"Wow, it is almost Christmas, huh? I forgot about the whole, three weeks thing. I missed Thanksgiving." she sighed.

"There's always next Thanksgiving." he smiled as they pulled into the driveway of the diner.

"That's true." she replied and took off her seat belt slowly as Enzo parked and turned off the car.

He got out, grabbing her chair from the backseat and reset it before opening her door.

After Bonnie got into her chair, they headed into the diner, which thankfully had a ramp for her beside the stairs.

When they got inside, the diner was a 'seat yourself' type of place, so Bonnie just needed to find Melanie. She spotted the red headed woman sitting at a table and wheeled over with Enzo following behind her.

"Melanie." Bonnie said as they stopped at the table and the second she looked up, and saw Enzo, and Enzo saw her, both of their eyes widened a bit.

Bonnie was a bit confused but turned her head to look at Enzo.

"This is Enzo, Enzo this is Melanie." she said and Enzo cleared his throat.

"Hello." was all he said and Bonnie rolled closer to the table, instead of getting out of her wheelchair and sitting in a normal chair.

Enzo sat down in a seat near her, forward facing Melanie.

"How are you?" Bonnie asked as a waitress came over, introduced herself and gave them menu's after taking their drink orders.

"I'm alright, and you?" Melanie asked, her eyes flickering over to Enzo who seemed a bit uncomfortable around her.

Bonnie tried to ignore that, and smiled when the waitress brought their coffee's and water over.

"I'm doing better, I hopefully should be out of this wheelchair in a week or so, if I'm lucky." she replied and mixed cream and sugar into her coffee.

One of Melanie's creamers fell off the table and rolled several feet away, and she stood up on instinct to get it.

Enzo choked on his coffee for a moment when he noticed her belly bump and quickly tried to compose himself.

"Bonnie is married to Damon Salvatore." Enzo mentioned when she sat back down and Bonnie gave him a weird look, wondering why he'd mention that so randomly.

Melanie swallowed, "Oh, you're... you're that Bonnie?" she asked, eyed flickering back over to her.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, that's me." she chuckled.

Enzo and Melanie were too quiet and she was starting to get confused.

"Do you two know each other or something?" Bonnie asked, tapping at the rim of her mug.

Melanie swallowed the coffee in her mouth, "We do." she replied.

Bonnie looked to the side at Enzo, and then back at Melanie, still trying to read the situation.

Had Bonnie brought Enzo to a breakfast with his ex?

"Have you two.." she started, motioning towards them and Enzo coughed again.

"Oh, no, we never were together." Melanie said, and Bonnie nodded, taking another drink of her coffee.

Then it hit her, if Melanie wasn't with Enzo, but knew him, then...had she dated Damon?

"So, have you dated Damon then?" Bonnie asked, thinking this was the reason for the awkwardness, but there was this twinge of something else, that was right there in her brain but she couldn't quiet get it.

"She did." Enzo replied for her, and was tapping his fingers along the table.

Bonnie looked back over at Melanie and a twisting started in her stomach as she glanced over the top of the woman's bump.

"How.. how long ago was that exactly?" she asked, and Melanie brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Uh." she mumbled, "A while ago." was all she said and before either of them knew it she was getting up from her chair and tossed several dollars on the table for her drink she'd ordered.

"I'm sorry, I.. I need to go." Melanie said and rushed as quickly as she could out of the diner.

Bonnie swallowed, staring at the empty seat, before turning her Enzo who had an unsettled look himself.

She inhaled before asking,

"Enzo, what the hell is going on?"

* * *

 _Please **leave a review**!_


	17. One Hell of a Plate

**A/N:** I do not appreciate the nasty reviews left about Melanie, or the situation. From now on, any negative guest reviews will be either deleted, or the inappropriate comments will be edited out. It's very upsetting when I introduce new characters and new plots, only for people to be rude about it.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 17** \- One Hell of a Plate _

"Enzo, what the hell is going on?" Bonnie had asked, staring straight into the mans face.

Enzo sighed, putting his hands on the table and pursed his lips.

"I'm serious." she added, her heart heavy in his chest.

He turned in his seat, so he could face her more and cleared his throat.

"A little over five months ago, Damon and Melanie were dating." he explained and Bonnie furrowed her brow, waiting for him to continue.

"He broke up with her the night he went to the club, and met you." Enzo continued, having a similar look of confusion and worry on his face as hers. He clearly wasn't too enticed about the idea that Melanie may very well be pregnant with Damon's child, and hadn't told him.

Bonnie inhaled, "So, what you're saying is, she might be pregnant with Damon's baby?" she asked, wishing the answer could be less daunting as it was. Sure, she hadn't even met Damon when he was with Melanie, it was months ago, but it wasn't exactly exciting news that Damon might have a child, with someone he wasn't married too.

"I don't know, honestly." he said, shaking his head.

"You don't know if they had sex or not?" she asked, nervous.

Enzo exhaled, "No, I don't. They didn't like each other, at least not in a emotional sense."

Bonnie lifted a hand and rubbed it along the side of her face.

"Okay, so neither of us know and Damon's currently at the clinic, so what are we supposed to do?" Bonnie asked, feeling a little lightheaded.

"We should wait until he gets out, I don't think telling him over the phone is a good idea." he suggested.

She nodded and tapped her fingers along the table.

"I can't believe this!" she sighed, "With everything going on, the last thing we need i-"

"-is a baby whose not even yours?" Enzo continued, with a inflection at the end.

Bonnie looked down at the table, "I mean, I guess... Although, now that I think about it, I feel kind of shitty for seeing a child as a problem." she shook her head.

"It's normal, any one would be taken aback." he assured her.

"This is just such a weird situation." she looked back up from the table, "If it was Damon had cheated on me, it would be so much different. But I can't think of Melanie as a home wrecker, or as a bad person, because this was months ago." she rolled her eyes, "I mean, I don't think I could think of anyone that way, but, ugh, this whole thing is crazy."

Bonnie closed her eyes for a second, before grabbing her phone and pressing Melanie's contact.

"I should talk to her, or try to." she said quickly and tapped the fingers of her free hand as she listened to the ringing.

When Melanie didn't answer, she hung up and tried again, to avail.

"Hey, hey." Enzo chuckled, grabbing the phone before she could try a third time and set it on the table.

Bonnie groaned and was ready to face plant the table.

"Everything will be okay!" he told her and she furrowed her brow.

"I don't know." she sighed.

Enzo shrugged, "Maybe there was someone else she was with besides Damon, and Melanie is just nervous. It's not like they were exclusive."

Bonnie glared, "That doesn't help."

He grabbed his coffee taking a drink before setting it back down again.

Bonnie wasn't so sure if she wanted to eat anymore, her stomach hurt, although she knew that she needed to eat either way. It was just her luck, for so many complicated things to be going on around her.

"This is, crazy." she repeated, "I've only been married a month and, there's a whirlpool of dysfunction surrounding me."

Enzo nodded, "But, riddle me this. I bet you didn't expect to fall for Damon either."

Bonnie blinked, and her lips turned up at the edges a bit, "No. I didn't, actually. I'm not sure what I expected, but I know it wasn't to like him, or to feel like I kind of belong."

He smiled back at her, "Well, you belong, trust me." he reached over and touched her hand for just a second.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that." she chuckled and brushed some hair behind her ear.

After a moment, the waitress came back over and ask them what they wanted to eat, after deciding they ordered, Enzo convincing her that she should eat something.

"I have therapy today, again." she told him while sipping at her water through a straw.

Enzo nodded, "If you want I can take you. Since we're already out." he offered.

Bonnie shrugged, "Sure, why not."

* * *

Damon was walking slowly along the grass of the garden, yard, set up in a circle in the middle of the clinic. The sun was near the middle of the sky, and he had been out there a solid hour at least. It was cool, so he had his jacket slung over his shoulders but not on completely. The ativan had kicked in, and he felt calm, but kind of out of it. He was all in his head, thinking through things over and over, pacing back and forth with his hands shoved in his jean pockets.

He wanted a drink, but not as much as before. Although, that was probably due to the fact that the medication was making him lose track of things. The nurse said it was normal, since he'd never been on anxiety medication before, and with all luck he wouldn't need to be on it for more than a few days. The next dose would be smaller, and then smaller, until he didn't need it.

Damon had slept good, he couldn't remember dreaming, and if he hadn't woken up in a panic, it would've been even better.

However, this time he had to himself, was daunting. He had time to think about his actions, his past, his father, his mother, Bonnie. It was all so complicated. Between, Giuseppe hurting Lily, someone having pushed Bonnie, and the law suit with Mystic Falls General, it was a hell of a lot to think about.

Damon exhaled, looking upwards at the clouded sky for a moment.

Maybe the problem was that he needed to let go of those things for a few days, and think about his past. Beyond Bonnie, beyond the last three weeks.

There was something more there. His father had always treated him second best, didn't matter who was first, Damon was always second. Except when it came to being reprimanded. Giuseppe never wasted a second to tell him he was wrong, or wasn't doing something right. This included being a man.

It seems ridiculous for a father to tell his own son, that he wasn't being a man the right way. This is because it is ridiculous.

"Hey, you." a female voice called from several feet away at a chess table.

Damon turned around, his eyes flickering over to a blonde sitting in one of the chairs.

"Yes, I'm talking to you." she chuckled, "Do you play?"

He pursed his lips and shrugged, "Why not."

He turned a bit and headed over, sitting in the empty chair across from her.

Damon looked up at the woman, she looked mid twenties like him, with hazel-green colored eyes.

"You first." she motioned and leaned back in her seat.

He made a move and then looked back over at her.

"I'm Lexi." she said while making her move, "You're Damon Salvatore, right?"

Damon blinked, "Ah, yeah." he sighed, scanning the board before moving again, thinking she was one of those fans of his.

"You went to Virginia Med." Lexi commented, tapping her fingers along the edge of the table, as she thought.

"How do you know that?" he asked, confused, scanning her face, which was rounded.

She smiled, revealing her dimples, "I was in your class."

He raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Mhm, graduating class of 2013." Lexi said slowly as she made a move, "Although, you weren't at graduation."

Damon licked at his lips, "No.." he said slowly.

He cleared his throat, "So, do you work here, or are you a patient?"

Lexi motioned for him to make a move, although she was 4 away from check mating him.

"Patient." she told him, "But, I do work in the medical field."

Damon made his move and nodded, "Can I ask what you're a patient for?"

"I got a bit heavy with the medication that was given to me for depression. I checked myself in here a few weeks ago." Lexi explained.

"Oh, sorry to hear that." he replied, "So, you're in here for the more long term treatment then." he added.

She nodded, making another move, "At least another week or two. I'm doing better though, they have me off any medication." she told him, "Working on natural healing."

Damon smiled a bit and looked at the board, knowing he had only two moves he could make.

"What are you in here for?" Lexi asked curiously. She hadn't seen him in at least 2 years, and they had never talked but, people certainly talked about him. Not that she'd ever take to rumors, she didn't like those snot nosed bitches in college anyway.

"Detox." he sighed and made his move.

"Hi, I'm Damon and I'm an alcoholic." he teased, trying to lighten that situation.

Lexi chuckled, "Hi, I'm Lexi and I have depression." she replied and check mated him so fast that he didn't see it coming.

"Check mate." she smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

"That was lucky." he insisted as they reset the board.

"So, why drove you to the edge?" Damon asked her, putting his chin in his hand.

Lexi pursed her lips, "I lost my husband." she said slowly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how long ago?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"About a year ago." she started, "For the first few months, it was numb, kind of ignoring everything. I went about everything normally, and people kept telling me 'you should be feeling something' but I just wasn't. And then, 8 months ago, I finally just crashed into the pain I had been avoiding. Then, lucky me, I got addicted to my medication, and almost jumped off a bridge. So, here I am."

Damon frowned, "How long were you married?"

Lexi inhaled, making the first move on the chess board.

"Just two years, but we had been together since senior year of high school." she explained.

He nodded, and made his move.

"What about you, Salvatore?" Lexi asked, "What sent you over the booze-rail?"

Damon sighed, watching as she made a move.

"My wife was hurt, and she was in a coma." he told her.

"Oh, wow. Is she alright now?" she asked slowly, watching him and folding her arms over her chest.

He nodded, "She's okay." he started, "But, for three weeks I was so afraid I wasn't going to her back. And, my family, most of them, aren't very comforting" Damon made a move.

"I understand. When my husband was dying, and when he died, my family tried to be there for me, but god bless them, they just didn't help." Lexi sighed.

Damon raked his fingers through his hair, "She is such a bright, happy thing in my life, that I didn't know I wanted until I met her, and when she was just ripped from me... I don't know, I lost it."

Lexi frowned, "Yeah. I guess when, you get used to someone's smile, their voice, the peace they bring to you, when you lose them in any way, it takes some of your sanity away." she spoke as she made another move.

"Although, hearing about your situation, makes me feel like I should've been more composed in mine, like I should've been more grateful." he admitted.

Lexi shook her head, "No, don't think that way. Don't downgrade your own pain and suffering. The whole 'there's someone who has it worse than you' thing, is some bullshit the world feeds us so they don't have to listen to our grieving." she started, "No one's pain is worse than someone else, or grater than someone else. Suffering is a individual thing."

Damon inhaled and nodded, "I suppose you're right." he made another move, close to winning this one.

* * *

Bonnie and Enzo were at the physical therapy clinic, with Enzo sitting in a chair, watching Bonnie and Haley. He didn't have to be in there, or even there at all, but he didn't feel right having her be there all alone.

"So, I see your husband couldn't make it." Haley commented and Bonnie sighed.

"No, for your information, he's actually at a clinic, recovering." she replied and Enzo looked away and outwards towards some other patients.

Haley blinked and continued helping Bonnie with some stretching exercises, rotating her ankles.

"I see..." she cleared her throat, "Your rage of motion is a little better today."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "Really?" she asked.

Haley nodded, "We might be able to start with some strengthening on your next visit."

Enzo glanced back over and his eyes met Bonnie's on happenstance.

She smiled a little at him.

"That's good." Bonnie said towards her therapist.

Honestly Bonnie was still worried about Melanie, but what was she supposed to do when the woman wouldn't answer her phone and Damon was in the clinic? She wasn't sure, but she did know, she needed to talk to Caroline. Enzo was helpful and reassuring but no one but Caroline understood how Bonnie felt more.

"I want you to practice some leg lifts, for a few minutes here, while I go print out a schedule of some exercises I want you to do at home, okay?" Haley asked, and patted Bonnie's leg gently before getting up and walking out of the room.

Bonnie sighed and slowly lifted her right leg off the table about half an inch before putting it back down and doing it again.

Enzo pursed his lips before standing up and stepping over, leaning against the side of the table.

"It's good, that you're getting stronger." he started, "I'm sure you're tired of not being able to walk."

Bonnie nodded, "You have no idea. The second I can, I'll be turning on some music and dancing while making breakfast." she chuckled.

He smiled at her, "I'd pay to see that."

Bonnie blinked, "Alright then." she chuckled and looked back towards her legs, repeating the lifts with her other leg.

Enzo sighed, "Sorry. What I meant was, it'll be nice to see you up and on your feet again."

Her lips tugged up at the edges, "It certainly will be."

Sighing she looked back after at him, "I'm worried." she confessed, although it wasn't a long shot.

Enzo turned towards her more, "About Melanie." he concurred.

Bonnie nodded, "If this is Damon's baby, that means we'll have to deal with custody, especially considering it doesn't seem like she even wants Damon to know she's pregnant." she shook her head, "I can't even think about what else we'll have to decide, because being a stepmother at twenty one, freaks me out more than being married out of no where did."

He folded his arms, "I get it. It's a complicated situation, you're wondering will Damon be happy if it is his kid, or will it drive him back down a negative path. Will Melanie like you?"

"Will the kid like me?" Bonnie continued his list of questions, "Most of all though, will I be less important?" she looked away.

Enzo furrowed his brow, "No." he told her, "I know Damon well enough, to tell you that, if this child is his, it's not going to lower your importance to him."

Bonnie looked back over, "Yeah, I guess it's a stupid thought... It's all just, so heavy lately."

He nodded, "Along with the law suit, it's a lot on one plate."

She blinked, "What.. What law suit?"

Enzo scanned her face, "You don't know?" he asked her, and she shook her head.

"What law suit?" Bonnie asked again.

"Damon is suing Mystic Falls General for neglecting procedures that could have prevented your coma." he explained and she swallowed, looking away with a worried look on her face.

"I wish he would've told me." she mumbled.

Enzo moved so he was in front of her, "I'm sure he was meaning too. He's been having a rough few days."

Bonnie nodded, "I guess you're right. I don't know if suing them now, is the best idea. With everything going on."

"Well, that's something you'll have to bring up to him when he get's out." he told her.

She nodded again, "That and Melanie" she sighed.

Bonnie was starting to need a new plate for everything being given to her, maybe a bowl actually. Better yet, she just wanted Damon to be there and well, so he could carry it with her.

* * *

 **Four Days Later**

Bonnie was sitting on the loveseat in the library with Caroline by her side. The sun was shinging through the curtains they had opened, and for one of the first days since coming home from the hospital, Bonnie felt pretty good. She was curious about how Damon was doing, and worried about Melanie, also confused about why she couldn't remember who pushed her. But, she was with her est friend, so it wasn't all that bad.

"I swear, if you look at Melanie's contact one more time, I'm going to throw your phone out a window." Caroline gave her a look and snatched Bonnie's phone from her hand, letting it on the table.

"I'm sorry! I just, I need something to be answered." she sighed.

Caroline nodded, "I know, you need an answer to your questions, and you'll get one eventually."

Bonnie exhaled, "I want to know how Damon's doing, if it's his kid, who the hell pushed me." she said the last two things a little more quietly, since the door across the room was open.

"You will find out those things." she assured her, "But you can't drive yourself crazy thinking about it.

Bonnie nodded and grabbed a handful of cheesy popcorn from the bowl sitting between them, and stuffed the pieces into her mouth.

"Okay, so let's talk about something else than." she spoke with the food in her mouth before swallowing.

Caroline chuckled, "Yeah, that's a good idea." she agreed.

"So, how are you and Matt, really?" Bonnie asked.

The blond sighed, "We're..." she started, "I don't know, honestly. It's been so long since I've seen him in person, he doesn't act like he is all that excited about the idea either."

Bonnie frowned, "I hate to say it, but maybe you've, ran your last mile when it comes to him."

Caroline furrowed her brow, "I love him though. But, at the same time I don't think I'm as excited about us either, and if he's not going to put in any effort, what's the point?" she asked.

"There isn't one, if Matt doesn't want to come see you, then you need to figure out if you can work through that, or if you need to end it." Bonnie replied and reached over touching her friends hand.

Caroline nodded, "You're right." she started, "Okay, so we should probably get going so I can get you to your therapy." she remembered and stood up wheeling Bonnie's chair over.

Bonnie chuckled at bit at her lip, knowing that she should probably tell Caroline about her plan to get her to spend more time with Stefan, but maybe it would be better if she waited till she was in her chair.

Caroline helped Bonnie sit in the wheel chair and then, followed Bonnie out the door and down the hallway. Leaving the bowl sitting on the sofa.

"So, are we taking your car or mine?" she asked and Bonnie pursed her lips as they got into the foyer.

"Actually..." Bonnie started and Caroline's eyes flickered over to see Enzo standing by the staircase.

Bonnie smiled a little, "I was thinking Enzo could take me again, and you can stay, hangout with Stefan."

Caroline gave her a look, "You planned this."

She chuckled, "Happy coincidence." she teased just as Stefan walked out of the living room.

"What's going on?" he asked looking around.

"Enzo is going to drive me to therapy, while Caroline stays and hangs out with you, is that okay?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan eyed Enzo, a little suspicious, This was the 3rd time now that he'd taken her to therapy. However, he kind of enjoyed talking with Caroline, so he wasn't about to turn time with her down.

"Sure, that's fine." he said, and looked over at Caroline, giving her a smile.

Enzo stepped over from the staircase, "Well, we better get going." he looked at Bonnie and then opened the door so she could wheel out of the house.

Once they were in the car, Bonnie pulled her hair up from her shoulders and into a pony tail, looking at the cheese stains on her finger tips and wishing she'd gotten a napkin.

"Hey, so, are you trying to set Caroline and Stefan up?" Enzo asked with a chuckle.

Bonnie's face flushed with color and she cleared her throat.

"Uh, not exactly. I mean, Caroline has a boyfriend." she explained.

"I know, that's why I was.. curious." he said taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at her.

Bonnie shrugged, "I mean, they seem to like each other and, I didn't tell you this, but Matt and Caroline aren't doing so great."

Enzo put both hands on the steering wheel, "Well, I wouldn't wish her relationship ill, but Stefan's a good guy."

She nodded, "He is, they seem to get along."

Eventually, they were at her meetings, and it was going fairly well. Bonnie was finally allowed to try and walk, holding into two bars and as she wheel over to the bars, she inhaled.

"You've been doing really well the last two visits, you're stronger than I thought you'd be." Haley commented and Bonnie swallowed, a little nervous.

Enzo stepped over near one side of the bars, eyes on her.

Bonnie put her hands on the bars and inhaled as she pulled herself upwards, standing straight. It was a little painful and her arms were shaky.

"Take a step." Haley suggested, but she stayed still.

Her heart was beating hard in her chest and she had half the mind to sit back down.

"You got this." Enzo said slowly, and she looked over at him, he nodded once.

Bonnie exhaled and looked back in front of her. Keeping her hands on the bars, she took a step, bringing her other foot up and beside the other.

"Good!" Haley smiled.

She continued, slowly taking a few more steps, and while they weren't all the comfortable, she became more confident.

Bonnie smiled and took a few more, and finally she was at the other end of the bars.

She turned herself around, almost falling but gripped the bars tighter.

"You wanna try walking back?" Haley asked.

Bonnie's eyes met Enzo's and Haleys for a second, and they both looked so happy for her. She was happy, god, she was happy. She was so close to being able to walk again.

Bonnie took a step, and slowly made her way back to them. She was kind of sweaty and her legs hurt, but she made it and sat back down in her wheel chair.

"I wish Damon was here." she sighed, and Enzo nodded.

"I'm sure he wants to be here." he assured her.

Haley gave Bonnie her water bottle, "You should be able to walk on your own after another few visits."  
"You can, stay and practice as much as you want, just don't over exert yourself." she reminded her, before leaving the room so she could go to another patient.

"You did good." Enzo told her, kneeling down to eye level.

Bonnie smiled, breathing a little heavily through her nose as she swallowed the water in her mouth.

"Thanks." she chuckled.

As Enzo looked at her, he was conflicted on whether or not he was actually doing this because Damon would want him too. He'd admitted to Damon about liking Bonnie, but it was more than that. It had to be.

He wasn't just taking Bonnie to her appointments because he had too. When she smiled it made him happy, and the more he hung out with her, the more he understood why Damon would go crazy without her for those weeks at the hospital. She was bright, and honest. Bonnie was...she was just Bonnie and for some god forsaken reason, that was more than enough to make two grown ass men smile like starstruck toddlers at her presence.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" Bonnie asked, setting the water bottle up on one the bars.

Enzo nodded, still kneeling down at her level.

"I was pushed, down the stairs." she told him quietly.

He blinked, "What?" he asked, confused.

"I remembered being pushed, but not who." Bonnie explained.

Enzo furrowed his brow, "Damon never told me that."

"Because I asked him not to tell anyone. I told Caroline though, but she's been my best friend for years." she sighed.

"You don't remember who?" he asked her.

Bonnie shook her head, "That's why I didn't want to tell anyone."

Enzo put his arms on her armrest, "So, why are you telling me then?"

"Because I trust you, I guess." she replied, "You're Damon's best friend, and you've been a good friend to be the last few days."

He nodded, "Well, I'm glad you trust me."

"Yeah, me too." She smiled a bit, "It's Giuseppe and Lily, who I don't trust."

"Giuseppe always rubbed me wrong, so did Lily, don't get me wrong. But, Giuseppe is by far the worse of the two."

Bonnie nodded, wondering if Enzo knew about his abuse against Lily, but wasn't sure if Damon had told him and thought it was Damon's right to tell his best friend those things, not hers.

Bonnie's phone started ringing in her bag on the table and Enzo stood up, hurried over and grabbed it for her.

"It's Damon." he said and handed to her, Bonnie smiled.

"It's a skype call." she said happily, and answered it.

Damon's face graced her screen a few seconds later.

"Hi!" she smiled, looking at his dark hair that was messy but, he didn't look so tired and he smiled at the site of her face as well.

"God, you look beautiful." Damon chuckled.

"Awe." Bonnie smirked.

Enzo leaned over putting his face into the camera, "You look beautiful too, mate." he teased.

Damon rolled his eyes, "I see he kidnapped you."

Bonnie nodded, "Yup, we're running away to Canada." she smiled.

He shrugged, "Well, I knew this would happen eventually." he joked.

Enzo smiled, "We're at her appointment." he explained before leaning out of the camera shot.

Damon blinked, "Oh? How's that going?" he asked.

"It's good, I can walk with the bars now." Bonnie told him, and Damon felt a little sad that he wasn't there with her.

"I wish I was there, I should be there." he sighed.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Hey, you're getting better, don't feel bad about that."

Enzo watched them talk, seeing the way they smiled at each other.

"Hey, I have an idea." he started, "I'll hold the camera and you can show Damon your walking." he suggested.

Bonnie inhaled, "Great idea!" she handed Enzo the phone and he walked to the other end of the bars, a few steps back so he could get all of her in the frame.

Bonnie pushed herself back up on the bars, it was a little easier than the time before even though she was tired.

Damon watched as Bonnie took a step forward and then another. Wishing he was there, but feeling lucky that she was even doing well enough to walk.

Bonnie smiled, walking towards Enzo, but her eyes were completely on Damon on the screen.

"You're doing so great!" Damon commented with a smile, and she smiled back at him, half way across the bars.

Enzo watched, holding the phone and looking at how these two human beings were smiling, and happy just getting to look at each other through a screen.

It didn't matter how he felt about Bonnie, there was no way he could possibly want to ruin what they had. Besides, the chances of Bonnie feeling the same way for Enzo, were slim. He could tell just by the way she looked at Damon as she walked, holding onto the bars.

Bonnie was someone who was easy to fall for, however, that didn't make it right. Enzo, smiled a little, trying to just enjoy being friends with her, and allowing to her have this moment with her husband.

If he couldn't have her like Damon had her, then, maybe being her friend wasn't such a horrible thing. It was a hell of a lot better than losing his best friend. Although, it certainly wasn't going to be easy.

Bonnie Salvatore, oh if only she knew how much she had changed more than one person's life by marrying Damon.

* * *

 _ **Leave a review** _ please!


	18. Oh Memories, You're All I've Ever Known

**A/N:** This chapter contains two very serious, and mature topics. I write them with complete love and support for anyone who's dealt with them.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 18** \- Oh Memories, You're All I've Ever Known_

Bonnie stared along the ceiling the next morning, it was early, maybe eight, and she wasn't entirely sure why she was awake. From what she could gather, she hadn't dreamt and now she was not ready to get up, but no longer wanted to sleep.

It was times like these, when everything was quiet, and she was by herself, that memories broke through in her head. Her emerald eyes flickered over to the windows, the sun leaving a glow against the curtains. Bonnie pulled the duvet up closer to her chin and wiggled her toes a little, which she was happy to be able to do.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and like a random flow of water, a memory came back to her.

 _"Mommy, what are you writing?" Bonnie asked, climbing into her mothers lap as she sat in bed._

 _Abby smiled, and looked down at her daughter, turning one of the pages in her notebook._

 _"A book." she replied, and a frustrated vibration came from Bonnie's lips._

 _"I know it's a book!" she insisted, "What's it about?"_

 _Her mother sighed and set the notebook and pen down, wrapping her arms around Bonnie._

 _"About two people, who fall in love." she told her, and rested her chin gently on top of her head._

 _Bonnie put her small hands on her mothers arms and smiled._

 _"I love you mommy." she told her._

 _Abby smiled, closing her eyes and kissing Bonnie's hair._

 _"I love you too."_

 _Bonnie's eyes moved over to the notebook, looking at the black written worlds she didn't really understand._

 _ **From the day they met, they were fighting for the love that brought them together; but, as the years went on, they grew tired and listless.**_

Bonnie opened her eyes, and sighed, sitting slowly up in bed. She ran her fingers threw her curly hair and took a breath. With any luck, Damon would be able to come that day. She desperately wanted to see him, and not just because she had several things to talk about with him. Though, as the situation dawned on her, she started to get a stomach ache. With a huff, Bonnie leaned over, opened the drawer of the bedside table and grabbed her journal, as well as a pen. She hadn't written in it very often, nor very extensively, just minimally; but, she had to admit, it was something she was beginning to enjoy.

Opening the journal to the next empty page, she clicked the pen.

 _Dear me,_

 _As you know, you were in a coma. Well, a few more things have happened since you woke up, besides you remembering you were pushed, but let's not recap the last entry... This is difficult to write and kind of crazy, but, a woman named Melanie might be pregnant with Damon's child. They apparently dated for several months and broke up a little over five months ago. What would you know, she's five months pregnant. It's ridiculous, but I'm terrified. I could handle being married all the sudden, but being a step mother, having this stranger I don't know all the sudden being a part of my marriage. It's not like, she'd be part of my marriage, I guess, but it's still not the most exciting news one could get. The ticker of it all, is that I have to tell Damon about it, or maybe I don't? I know someone does, but just thinking of telling him about it, makes my head hurt. So much is going on, it's all dizzying. I could go on and on, and on, but I won't. I know what's going on in my head and it's not pretty. Basically, I'm worried about Damon, who oh, by the way, is at a clinic, for the last few days, detoxing for alcoholism. Complicated, I know. Hopefully, future me will read this and shake her head at how worried current me is. Either way, I'm not sure what's going to happen, and I really need the strength to get through it. Maybe praying, would be a good idea, but I don't know, I've never been too into that. Which, is a whole different situation, I don't want to get into. Alright, now I'm just rambling to myself..._

 _Bonnie._

She closed her journal with another sigh and placed her things back in the drawer, then closed it. She was getting stronger, and her bruises were lighter, didn't hurt as much. It was definitely nice to know, that while everything else was a mess around her, Bonnie was at least healing physically.

Tilting her head back, she leaned it against the headboard. There was a knock at the door, and she was half ready to not answer, but leaned her head forward again.

"Come in." Bonnie said, running a hand along her face.

A few seconds later, Stefan appeared in the door way with who mugs of coffee.

"I made us some coffee, I figured you'd want some." he said with a smile, as he walked over to the end of the bed.

"Oh, thanks." she replied, and motioned him over.

He sat on the side of the bed and handed Bonnie her steaming cup of coffee.

Bonnie felt a little guilty, for not having told Stefan about Melanie, but it was one of those things that wasn't her job to tell him, and since they weren't sure about any of it, it would be pointless to get everyone all confused and worried.

"Are you doing okay?" Stefan asked her, sipping as his coffee as he was dressed in his pajama pants and white tank top still.

Bonnie tapped her fingers along the rim of the mug, "I'm doing okay."

He nodded, "I'm glad."

It was silent for a moment, as they weren't sure what to talk about and it was early. Bonnie was kind of wishing she'd tried to go back to sleep.

"So, if Damon gets out today, you're going to come get him right?" Bonnie asked, wondering if Damon had even called his brother while he was at the clinic. He'd only called her once the day before.

Stefan nodded, "Yeah of course." he chuckled.

"Great." she smiled at him a little, and took another sip of her coffee before setting it down on the night stand.

"Oh..." Bonnie started, "Enzo's coming too, so we can take his car, or yours."

Stefan blinked, "Ah, I guess his." he shrugged.

"Okay, I'll text him." she said, and searched for her phone under the covers, before pulling it out and finding his last text to her.

 **Enzo:** Goodnight

She brushed her hair behind her ear before typing.

 **Bonnie:** Stefan's coming with us to pick up Damon, and we're going to take your car.

Bonnie looked up from the phone and exhaled, thinking that she needed one of her pain pills. Her phone vibrated.

 **Enzo:** Okay, let me know if Damon calls.

She tossed her phone to the side and stretched her arms above her phone.

"So, Enzo's been around a lot." Stefan commented, "Taking you to your appointments."

Bonnie looked to the side, then back at him, "Yeah, he's been nice."

"Very nice." Stefan retorted and took a drink of his coffee, looking away from her.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "What does that mean?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, I'm just not used to seeing Enzo around so much, when Damon's not."

She eyed him, still kind of confused.

"Alright then..." Bonnie cleared her throat, "So, you and Caroline?" she asked.

Stefan coughed, "What about us?"

She smiled, "You've been hanging out, lately."

Stefan nodded, "If I recall correctly, one of those times was a plot, devised by you."

Bonnie flushed with color.

"I just think, she likes talking to you, is all." she insisted.

"I like talking to her." he replied with a chuckle, "She does have a boyfriend though, and I'm not a side guy, kind of guy."

Bonnie smiled, "No, of course not."

Stefan lifted a hand and tousled his hair quickly.

"Though, if her and Matt break up." she said slowly, "You have a chance."

He blinked, "You think so?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. You're cute." she smiled an watched the mans face turn pink.

"Whatever you say." Stefan cleared his throat and stood up from the bed, "Enjoy your coffee."

He headed across the room and towards the door.

"You don't have to do." she told him but he waved his free hand.

"I have things to do anything." Stefan chuckled and disappeared from the room.

Bonnie shrugged and looked back down at her phone, picking it up and staring at it. Waiting for Damon to call and say he was ready to come home, was like watching water boil. She wished she could drive and walk completely on her own already, so she could go get him on her own, but she also knew that Stefan and Enzo probably missed Damon just as much as her.

Or did they?

Honestly, based on Damon's personal issues, it seemed like not many people who said they cared about him, really acted like it. Although, Enzo seemed to care about Damon, or else why would he be helping Bonnie out as much as he was? And, Stefan too.

Bonnie was getting a headache, just thinking about all of it. The day seemed to go by slowly, but before she knew it, Damon's name popped up on her caller ID around noon. She was rolling around the library, and answered it as quickly as possible.

"Damon." she smiled , holding the phone to her ear.

"Good news, I can come home." Damon told her and she would have been doing a little dance if she wasn't afraid she'd fall out of her wheelchair.

Bonnie sighed, "Thank God." she mumbled.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her, suddenly a little worried that something had happened while he was gone.

"Yeah..." she started, biting at the inside of her cheek, "I just miss you."

"I miss you too. You guys can, come get me whenever you're ready." Damon told her.

"We'll be there soon." Bonnie replied, and hung up the phone, immediately finding Enzo's contact and clicking it.

After several rings, he finally answered.

"Hey, Bonnie." Enzo said, and she could hear the wind as he drove down the road.

"Hi, so, Damon called me and said we can come get him now." she told him.

"Alright, I'll be there." he said and then hung up after a moment.

Bonnie wheeled out of the library and down the hallway, hoping Stefan hadn't left to go anywhere.

"Stefan!" she called out as she wheeled into the foyer.

Stefan walked out of the kitchen a second later, "Here." he said with a smile, mouth full of food.

"Ah, gross." Bonnie chuckled, closing her eyes.

"Sorry." he swallowed the food, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Bonnie shook her head and opened her eyes, "It's okay... Damon called, he's ready to be picked up, Enzo's on his way over." she explained.

"Oh, good." Stefan replied, walking over to the coat rack and grabbing their coats, and Bonnie's boots for her.

"Thanks." she said, putting on her coat and books.

Stefan nodded, "You know, he might seem better, than he was, but he's still going to need more help, more time before he's really better." he said slowly, looking down at her.

Bonnie's forehead crinkled, "I know that. I'm here for him." she insisted, but Stefan didn't seem to believed her, as he pursed his lips and looked away from her.

"What, you don't think I am?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Stefan inhaled, "Let me put it this way." he started, "This isn't the first time, a woman has said they'd be there for him, but bailed out."

"Nice to know you trust me." she sighed and before anyone could say anything else, Enzo appeared, opening the front door.

"You guys ready?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

They nodded, and started out of the front door once he moved out of the way. The drive was a bit awkward, silent and full of glances that Bonnie didn't understand. Though, she couldn't remember if Enzo and Stefan had ever gotten along, perhaps they just didn't like each other; for reasons she couldn't decipher.

The whole way there, she was wondering how Damon's detox went, she'd like to know more about that. But, also she was worried that he wouldn't be able to handle the new of Melanie. Bonnie knew she needed to stop worrying, she didn't have to say anything as soon as the saw each other. All that mattered right then, was getting to see him again, and hoping he was doing much better.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Bonnie could see Damon walking out of the building with his bag and she smiled. Stefan got her wheelchair for her, and she climbed into it, wheeling ahead of Enzo and Stefan.

Damon's eyes flickered over to her, and his lips turned upward, even though his wheeling wife was several yards away. He picked up his pace and once he was closer, she stopped about two feet from him.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." he teased, looking down at her.

"Ditto." Bonnie said with a smile, Enzo and Stefan standing a few feet behind her. Looking just slightly like her body guards.

Damon set his bag down and grabbed Bonnie under her arms, pulling her upwards onto her feet. She instantly leaned against him, resting her face on his chest as he kept her standing.

"Hi, baby." he whispered, putting one his hands along the small of her back.

Bonnie lifted her arms and put them around his neck. Damon leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, exhaling softly through his nose in relief. She kissed him back softly, her face warm and ears tingling. When she deepened the kiss a bit, someone behind her cleared their throat.

Damon chuckled, and broke the kiss, placing one on her nose before letting her sit back down. His blue eyes flickered up and over to his best friend and brother.

"Good to see you guys too." he told them, and Stefan rolled his eyes, stepping over and giving his brother a loose hug. Damon smiled and patted him on the back before pulling away.

Enzo pursed his lips, "Thanks for calling me, by the way."

Damon shook his head, "So clingy." he joked and Enzo made a face.

Damon stepped over and hugged him, Enzo sighed before giving into the hug and chuckling.

Bonnie smiled, "Awe"

Enzo pulled back from the hug and the guys all cleared their throats at the same time, shoving their hands in their pockets. She shook her head and looked down at her lap for a second.

"So, we were going to take you out to eat." Stefan mentioned.

Damon exhaled, "Ah, honestly, I'd rather just go home for now." he admitted.

Bonnie looked back up, brushing her hair behind her shoulder.

"Well, we can go another time, that's fine." she assured him, and he looked over at her with a small smile.

Damon picked his bag up off the ground, "I am ready to go home, I don't know about you guys."

They all headed back to the car, and Damon got in the backseat with Bonnie, while Enzo drove and Stefan was in the passenger seat. Bonnie clicked her seat belt on they headed down the road.

Damon put his arm around Bonnie's shoulders and she looked up at him, leaning her forehead against his arm.

"Tell me, are you feeling much better?" she asked, curious.

He licked at his lips, "I am feeling better. Panic attacks are at bay, it seems... I'm still craving alcohol, but I feel more in control." he told her.

Bonnie nodded, "That's good, I'm glad.. What's next?"

Damon pursed his lips, turning his head and looking out of the window for a moment.

"I guess I need to get set up with a therapist in the area, and possibly go to some.. meetings." he sighed.

She set her hand on his chest, "I'm here for you. I know it's not going to be easy, but I am." she reminded him, worrying about the unsaid things.

He looked back at her, and put his hand over hers, "I appreciate that, a lot."

Bonnie smiled a tad and linked their fingers together. Stefan's phone started ringing and he answered it quickly to escape the awkward, and tense vibes he was getting from Enzo.

"He just got out of the clinic, father..." Stefan was mumbling, trying to be quiet while on the phone, but everyone's attention turned to him the second Giuseppe was mentioned.

"I'm aware you don't care..." he continued with a sigh, "I'll go in his place."

Stefan hung the phone up and looked around him at the wondering eyes.

"What did he want?" Damon asked, with an annoyed look on his face. It wasn't a surprise that Giuseppe didn't care about his own son battling addiction.

"There's a meeting, I told him I'd take your place." Stefan explained, shoving his phone back in his jeans pocket.

"You don't need to do that." Damon insisted, but his brother shook his head.

"Yeah, I do. You should be allowed to rest, I filled in for you at another meeting already, I'll get you caught up later." he said and turned to look back out the windshield.

By the time they got back to the house, Bonnie had gotten so distracted by looking out the window that she didn't notice Damon's hands were shaking just a little.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked him as Enzo pulled through the long driveway.

Damon exhaled, and held her hand a little tighter, "I'm just a little, shaky." he admitted.

"It's okay." Bonnie said slowly, nuzzling her face against his arm and he smiled, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling her a bit closer when the car was parked.

"Alright, love bugs, you're gonna have to get out." Enzo told them, as Stefan had already gotten out and was closing his door.

Damon chuckled, and pulled away from Bonnie, getting out and grabbing her wheel chair from the trunk. Bonnie got in it and happily let Damon push her, even though she didn't really need him too.

The time spent in the clinic wasn't nearly as difficult as Damon had thought it would be. It was, fairly easy, despite the first few days of panic attacks, and taking lower dose, by lower dose of Ativan, until he didn't need it anymore, and could calm himself if he needed. It was an ongoing battle, but with the withdrawal over, it was not nearly as gruesome. He had been given the sleeping medication however, to take with him, but only enough for a few days, and then after that he'd have to get them from a therapist if they thought Damon should use them permanently.

Enzo, Damon and Bonnie immediately went into the living room once they were inside, but Stefan hurried upstairs to change into a suit.

"Mr. Salvatore. It's nice to have you back." Wayne said as he stepped into the room, bowing at him very slightly and putting his arm out in an offer to take everyone's coats.

"It's good to be back." he replied, and took off his coat, draping it over Wayne's arm.

Bonnie and Enzo did the same, and Wayne nodded at them before walking out of the room.

Damon sat down on the couch and helped Bonnie up as well, she sat beside him, resting her head against the side of his shoulder.

"So..." Enzo started, "How was the clinic?" he asked, sitting down in a chair across from them.

"It was about as good as it could be. I feel more rested, and in control." he replied, wrapping an arm around Bonnie's shoulder.

It was nice to finally have him back, even if the situation was a bit tense, with everything Enzo and Bonnie knew, that Damon didn't.

Stefan came jogging down the stairs and peeked his head in from the foyer.

"I'll be back later." he told them, and disappeared again.

"That's great." Enzo said, referring to Damon's previous reply.

Bonnie smiled, "Enzo was such a good baby sitter by the way." she teased, "He took me to my appointments every time, and to lunch."

Damon blinked, looking over at Enzo, "Is that so?" he asked, happy that Bonnie hadn't been alone, but a little worried about whether Enzo's reasoning behind those things were innocent.

"I figured, you'd want me too." he insisted, smiling, but inside he was nervous. He knew Damon knew how he felt, and he didn't want to over step anything.

Damon nodded, "I'm going to grab some water, you want anything?" he asked them, not wanting to bother Alice or Wayne, besides, he hadn't gotten anything for himself in days.

They both shook their heads and he stood up, disappearing out of the room.

Bonnie swallowed, looking at the floor, feeling nervous.

"You know, someone needs to tell him." Enzo said slowly, and this didn't make anything easier.

She knew, he knew, they both knew they needed to tell Damon who didn't know.

Bonnie's stomach was hurting. Was it really her responsibility to tell Damon this? Didn't she have enough on her plate? This was answered by a tight squeezing of her chest and a dizziness that blurred her sight for a few seconds.

"Can you tell him?" she asked Enzo who looked at her surprised.

"What?" he questioned.

Bonnie swallowed again, hard, "Will you tell Damon about Melanie? I can't do it. I can feel my heart beat in my ears and I'm dizzy, and .." she lost her breath and put a hand on her forehead.

"Hey.. hey.." Enzo said, giving her a worried look.

She looked back over at him with a weak look in her eyes, and this in turn made him fall straight into her every will.

"I'll tell him." he agreed with a sigh.

"Thank you." Bonnie said quietly, inhaling, and trying to clear her head.

When Damon walked back in with his glass of water, the air in the room was tense, and the second he set his water down he eyed Bonnie and Enzo.

"What's going on?" he asked, and Enzo pursed his lips.

"Could we talk?" Enzo asked, and Damon nodded, watching as Bonnie slid back into her chair.

"You don't have to go." Damon told her, but she shook her head and wheeled out anyway, putting the brakes on the chair when she got into the foyer, her stomach waving again.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Enzo stood up and motioned Damon to sit down.

"What's going on?" he asked as he returned to his seat on the couch.

Enzo pursed his lips, "I need you to assure me, that you're not going to go back over the edge if I tell you this." he said slowly.

Damon blinked, "I'm not going to, what's going on, Enzo?" he asked again, but even then his hands were a bit shaky. He inhaled, reminding himself that he was in control.

"Well... You remember Melanie?" he asked, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

"Yeah, we dated for a few months, set up by father." he replied, leaning back on the couch.

Enzo nodded, "Well, somehow Bonnie and Caroline know her, and I was invited to breakfast with Bonnie and a friend, and that friend happened to be Melanie."

Damon sighed, "What happened?"

"It's not about what happened, more about, Melanie specifically." he started, "Damon, she's five months pregnant."

Damon could have sworn his heart stopped in his chest, but if that were the case he could have been dead and unable to rise to his feet.

"She's.. pregnant?" he asked, although he'd heard perfectly clear.

"Yes, very much so." Enzo told him, "I know you two hated each other, but did you or didn't you sleep with her close to when you broke up?"

Damon sighed, "Yeah, we did. The night we broke up." he shook his head, having a hard time processing all of this.

Enzo gave him a look, "Why the hell would you sleep with someone after breaking up with them?"

"I don't know.. I." he started, "Because we were dysfunctional, and I wasn't thinking with my head."

Enzo exhaled, "So, the chances of this baby, being yours?"

Damon turned around, putting his hands on his head.

"Very likely, I suppose." he replied, before turning around to face Enzo.

"You wouldn't think you were just with her though." Enzo stated.

"No, I was with someone else, so was she, I think." he swallowed, "But, I don't know for sure."

Enzo shook his head, "If it makes you feel any better, Melanie didn't seem like she wanted you to know."

Damon furrowed his brow, "Why the hell would that make me feel better?" he asked, "If the child is mine, I should know."

His chest hurt. He was in no way ready for a child, not now, and much less not one that wasn't his wife's, that wasn't Bonnie's. Yet, at the same time, the thought of a kid that was his, growing up without him, made him feel sick.

"Does Bonnie know?" he asked suddenly, his head aching, craving a drink more than he had in the last few days.

Enzo nodded, "Yeah, she asked me to tell you, because she's too upset."

Damon scrubbed a hand over his face, "Fuck." he mumbled, "Do you think, you can leave?" he asked Enzo.

"Thank you for telling me, but I really need to be alone with her, and talk to her." he added.

Enzo nodded, with a worried look on his face, "Let me know what happens."

Bonnie was still in the foyer, listening to as much as she could, when Enzo came walking out and gave her a small nod before grabbing his coat and heading out of the front door.

She inhaled, and turned her head back at the living room, and took the breaks off her chair, wheeling in. When she got in, Damon was sitting down, with his head in his hands on the couch.

She furrowed her brow and wheeled over to him, stopping in front of him.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie whispered, but he shook his head and looked up at her.

"I'm the one who should be sorry, you have enough to deal with." Damon sighed, his blue eyes a little wet, and frustrated.

Bonnie frowned, "You did nothing wrong. You didn't even know, until now."

"I still slept with Melanie, and on top of that I wasn't careful." he looked back down.

"You can't change that, and you can't blame yourself." she told him.

Damon swallowed, "I need to know if the baby's mine. I can't even breathe right, thinking about the fact that if it is mine, she's hid it from me."

Bonnie reached her hands upwards and brushed thick locks of Damon's hair behind his hears and leaned forward in her chair.

"Hey, no matter what happens. It's not going to change, this." she tilted his his head upwards, and looked in his eyes.

"I am scared, believe me. But, I just escaped death, I'm just happy you're right in front of me." Bonnie whispered, and Damon inhaled, closing his eyes, then exhaling.

"What's ironic, is, how quickly you've become someone I would be lost without." he whispered, before opening his eyes and looking straight into her emerald ones he'd missed so much.

"No, what's ironic is, you're that person for me too." she replied, smiling just a bit, and caressing near his ear.

"Really, after all this?" Damon asked.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'after all this'? It's been a little over a month, Damon." she reminded him, "I'm not going to bail out on you, after a month." she assured him.

"Good." he said lifting a hand and touching her face, feeling it soft and warm under his fingers.  
"Because I'm not bailing on you either."

"You stayed by my side, three weeks, at the hospital. I trust you." she told him, and he leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers gently.

After a second, the kiss from and Damon sighed.

"How, did she seem, Melanie?" he asked her, and Bonnie pursed her lips.

"When Caroline and I ran into her, she seemed happy, but it seemed kind of forced, when I think about it, and when Enzo and I saw her, she seemed uncomfortable." she answered.

"Do you know if she is still in town?" Damon questioned.

"She said she was staying at her brothers, but I don't know if she's still there." Bonnie replied.

Damon nodded and scooted to the side then stood up from the couch.

"I know where he lives." he said and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Are you going to go there?" she asked, turning her chair around.

He nodded, "Yeah, hopefully she's still there."

Bonnie followed him out into the foyer, "Maybe I should go with you." she suggested

Damon shook his head, "No, I.. I think just I should go." he said, and turned around to face her, seeing her slightly sad face.

"It's not because I don't want you too." he assured her, "I just, I.." he sighed.

Bonnie pursed her lips before speaking, "No, it's okay. You should go, it's something you need to face on your own for now. I understand."

Damon gave her a thankful look, and leaned down after pulling his coat on, and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back." he promised her.

"Drive safe." she told him, and watched him walk out of the door.

With a sigh, Bonnie wheeled back into the living room, and sat back down on the couch. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she spun it around several times in the air before unlocking it and staring at her contacts.  
 _  
Caroline or Dad?_

This was the question, but when it came down to it, Rudy was who she needed to talk too. He'd always been the one person she could trust, sure Bonnie trusted everyone else, but her father was, well, her father.

Clicking on his contact, she lifted the phone to her ear and stared at her lap as it rung. After five rings, she was sure he wasn't going to answer, but thankfully she was wrong.

"Hey, baby girl." Rudy answered, and she sighed, closing her eyes.

"Hi, daddy." Bonnie replied.

"Is everything alright?" he asked her, and she leaned her head against her palm.

"Not entirely, just a lot going on." she told him.

Rudy was silent for a second, "You want to tell me about it?"

She exhaled, "Yeah." she cleared her throat, "Uh, This woman, Damon was dating a while back, before we met, is pregnant."

"Oh, wow. Do.. Do you two know if it's his yet?" he inquired.

Bonnie shook her head, even though he couldn't see her, "No, not yet."

Her heart was beating hard, and she wanted to open her eyes but it was difficult.

"I'm so scared, dad." she said slowly, her eyes filling with tears.

"I know, I'm sorry." he said back, and she inhaled shakily.

"I know why I'm so scared about it." Bonnie replied, opening her eyes and the tears spilled out, down her cheeks.

Rudy sighed on the other end, "It's because of what happened with Kai." he read her mind.

"Yeah. I know that's what it is. It's been over a year, but, the second I realized that she might be carrying Damon's child, I just, everything came back so clearly." Bonnie swallowed hard, tasting her tears along her lips.

"You need to tell Damon, about it, Bonnie." he told her.

"I know. You're the only one who knows, but Damon should." she sighed.

"When you're ready, you tell him." he said slowly.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, I will."

* * *

Damon sat in his Camaro outside the house of Daniel Blanc, Melanie's brother. He had only met him once or twice, and he wasn't a bad guy, however he wasn't there to see Daniel.

His heart was beating fast, and he was nervous.

Damon had thought through several lines of dialogue, going through them, what he wanted to say, what he should say. But, as he stared at the front door, the clock on the dashboard saying 4pm, as it had been a solid two hour drive; he couldn't remember for the life of him what he planned on saying.

Taking a breath, he got out of the car and headed for the door. Once he got to it, he knocked three times and waited. He had expected Daniel to answer the door, but when it opened, he was face to face with the red haired Melanie.

"Damon." she whispered and the second she finished, she hurried to close the door, but he quickly stopped it with his foot.

Which was little bit more painful than the shows make it out to be.

"What do you want?" Melanie asked from behind the door, only half of her face visable.

Damon's eyes met her hazel ones, "You know why I'm here. So, just come out and talk to me." he said, putting a hand on the door.

Melanie swallowed and opened the door all the way again, and he stepped back a few feet.

As she stepped outside, closing the door behind her, he eyed her baby bump, and started to feel dizzy again.

"How could you not tell me?" he asked her, watching her fold her arms across her chest.

Melanie sighed, "You weren't supposed to find out."

"Really? That's your response?" Damon questioned, frustrated.

"Yeah." was all she said, with a sad look on her face, one he wasn't used to.

While they were together, she was always up front, loud, a little too confident. But, standing before him was a woman who had her shoulder to tilted forward, arms across her chest like she was trying to hide in them and her eyes despondent.

"That's all you have to say to me, Mel? Because as I remember, you were never one with a loss for words." Damon said slowly, clenching his jaw.

Her eyelids fluttered and she looked downwards, "Things change, I guess."

He shook his head, "Is the baby mine, or isn't it?"

Melanie looked away, and inhaled, "I don't know, it could be, or maybe it's not."

"And, you were just going to go on, with someone else and let them think it's theirs?" Damon asked and bit her lip.

"Yes." Melanie told him, looking ashamed, and he couldn't figure out why.

"But why, Melanie. I deserve to know." he said a little louder, and it seemed to startle her.

If only Bonnie had been there, she'd be able to know the difference. At the mall, and at the diner, Melanie had seemed happy, but now, when Damon stood before her she seemed frightened.

"I know." she ran a hand through her hair, and he was getting tired with the one worded answers.

"Why are you acting this way? From what Bonnie told me, you seemed happy, though uncomfortable. But, clearly you're not." he commented.

"I'm not, Damon." Melanie replied, eyes a little wet, "I'm not happy, but I have to be happy. I have to smile, and pretend everything is okay."

"Why?" he asked stepping forward, just wanting to know, "Why are you pretending to be happy?" he looked at her confused.

Melanie shook her head, not wanting to answer him.

"Mel, why wouldn't you tell me about this, get a prenatal paternity test to see if it is mine?" Damon asked, feeling his stomach ache.

"Because I don't want to know!" she replied, getting agitated.

"How, how could you not want to know? Please, tell me so I can understand." he said, hands shaking.

Melanie seemed to burst at the seams, as her hands flew back down her sides,  
"I was raped!" she told him, in a strangled voice, "That's why I don't want to know, b-because if it isn't.. yours then.." she inhaled, "It's his." her tears rushed down her face and every second she'd spent trying to be okay, and be happy, felt wasted to her.

Every ounce of anger Damon could have possibly had buried for her, dissipated. His shoulders untensed, and his face went blank.

"Melanie, I.." he started, unable to find the words.

"Two days, after we broke up." she sniffled, "That's why, practically no one knows, and why I didn't want you to know."

He swallowed, "Who?"

"No one you could possibly know." Melanie replied, folding her arms back over her chest.

It was silent for far too long, and the sun was setting behind the house.

"I'm so sorry." Damon whispered, unsure of what to say, or do.

"I should have told you, I know that it's selfish." she said back softly, and wiped at her face.

He sighed, "I don't.. think its selfish. But, I do think that you should know. Because, if the baby is mine, I want to be part of their life." he told her.

Melanie nodded, exhaling, "I knew this would happen eventually."

"Will you, please, agree to a prenatal paternity test?" Damon asked, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, but he needed to know.

"Alright." she sighed, "You'll need to come with me, to get blood drawn... There's a clinic near by, I've been going there for check ups the last few weeks."

Melanie still looked sad, but as she composed herself, the faux confidence oozed back in, and she tried to pretend she wasn't nervous. It was her way of coping. If she acted happy, maybe she would be. She knew for a fact this wasn't good, as her therapist had been telling her, but she was stubborn, and honestly, just wanted to grieve how she was most comfortable with.

"You don't have to do this today." he told her, furrowing his brow.

She shook her head, "You're here, and if I don't do it now, I might end up running off so." she looked away.

Damon kind of wanted to hug her, but from the way she was standing away from him, he didn't think she'd be alright with that.

"Is it alright, if I meet you there? It's just two streets over, can't miss it." Melanie asked, and he nodded.

He wasn't sure how to feel. Before he had been upset, but now he was worried, for himself and Melanie. If it wasn't his child, this meant it was someone who had hurt Melanie, but if it was his child, this meant his world was changed forever. Damon had to stop for a moment, and realize that, Melanie's world was changed forever either way, so perhaps feeling bad for himself was the selfish thing.

He turned around and headed for his car.

Fifteen minutes later and he was getting his blood drawn in a white floored room, staring at a poster detailing the bi-weekly development of a fetus.

"Alright, you're all done." the nurse told him as she pulled the needle out, wiped the area clean and placed a bandage over it.

Damon rolled his sleeve down and hopped off the examination table.

"Once we get Melanie's sample, we will send them to the lab, and it will take about two days for the results." she explained and opened the door for him.

He nodded and headed back down the hallway to the waiting room and opened the door.

Melanie was still sitting, waiting to be called in. The nurse behind him motioned her when he stepped out.

She stood and walked over, looking nervous. Damon wasn't sure what to say, so he gave her a reassuring look and watched her walk in and the door close. He stepped over to the counter where the woman at the computer looked up.

"Is Melanie paying for the testing or are you?" she asked, and he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

"I am." he replied, and pulled his debit card out.

She placed the slider on the counter along with a pen.

Damon slid his card in, entered his pin and pressed 'yes' on the $1000 charge, then signed his name.

"Alright, when the results are in, we can either email you, send you a letter, or call you." she told him.

"Call me, please." he said and put his card back in his wallet before shoving it back in his pocket and moving over to sit in the chair beside Daniel, who hadn't said a single word to him.

A bit later and Melanie was walking out, looking uncomfortable but she wasn't crying and she folded her arms over her chest.

Damon stood up and walked over to her, "So, I guess we'll find out in a few days."

"Yeah." she nodded.

"Do you want me to stick around for a bit more, we can talk?" he suggested, but she shook her head.

"No, thanks, Damon." Melanie said and he watched her leave with Daniel.

* * *

When Damon got home 2 hours later, the house was pretty quiet, as it was almost seven in the evening.  
"Bonnie?" he called, but noticed her wheelchair wasn't in the living room, so he headed upstairs.

The long car ride had given him time to think, compose himself and come to the realization that he might be a father. It was a difficult situation, but in reality, it wouldn't be difficult forever.

"I'm in here." Bonnie said from the bedroom, and he walked in, taking his shoes and coat off, tossing them to the side.

She was sitting on the floor going through a box, and he moved to sit beside her.

"How did it go?" she asked, curious, looking over at him.

He sighed, "It went, okay. She agreed to get a prenatal paternity test, so I had my blood drawn." he explained, and rolled his sleeve up to show her the bandaid.

"Well, it's good that she decided... I know this isn't easy for you." Bonnie frowned.

"Not for her either." Damon replied, unbuttoning the top button on his shirt.

She furrowed her brow, "What is it?" she asked.

He shook his head, "It's not my information to tell you, or I would."

Bonnie was confused but nodded, "Alright, I understand."

She turned her head back to the box.

"What are you looking at?" Damon asked her, eye's flickering downwards.

"Photo's." she replied and turned a few of them so he could see better.

One of them was of a similar, but smaller looking Bonnie, in the arms of a lighter skinned woman, with the same emerald eyes as her, same dark curly hair.

"Is that your mom and you?" he questioned, touching the edge of the photo.

Bonnie nodded, "Yup." she pulled out a few more, and before she knew it, they were spread out all along the floor.

"Look at you." Damon chuckled, "You were adorable." he held several baby photos of her, with wrinkly hands, and little curly tuffs of hair.

"Shut up." she blushed and hit him with the back of her hand.

Damon snorted as he found another photo, "Is this you, in the bath?" he asked her, and her eyes went wide as she snatched it from him.

"Ugh, why would they take this?" she face palmed herself as she looked at toddler her covered in bubbles, leaning out of the bathtub trying to grab the camera.

"'Cause you were adorable, like I said." he replied and she rolled her eyes.

Damon smiled, and pulled out another one, it was of Bonnie, looking aruond four years old, clad in winter gear standing on the steps of a cabin, with Abby to the right of her, sitting on the stairs, and another woman on the left.

"Oh," Bonnie said slowly, taking it from him, "That was when my dad took Grams, mom and up north for a few weeks." she smiled.

"You look so much like your mom and Grams." he commented and she nodded.

"Yeah, basically a carbon copy of my Grams..." she sighed, "I miss her."

Damon wrapped an arm around her, before grabbing another baby photo.

"Are you wearing pants on your head?" he asked with a chuckle, and she laughed as well.

"Oh, look, here you are eating your own foot." he held up another.

Bonnie's face was pink and she shook her head, "It was probably delicious." she teased.

Damon leaned over and actually licked her face. Her eyes went wide in surprise.

"Hmm." he mumbled, "Yeah, okay." he grinned.

Bonnie giggled, "You're so weird." she shook her head.

"And you're tasty." he replied, greeted with a smile.

"I would lick your face but you are over due for a shave." she commented, touching his minor beard, that was still there.

Damon smirked and leaned back over, licking her face again.

Bonnie squealed and wiped at her face quickly, "I am not food!"

He chuckled and pulled her up into his lap, the photo's in hers falling to the floor, her back against his chest.

Damon wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands in her lap and pressed his chin against her shoulder.

"I missed you." he said softly, and kissed the side of her neck.

Bonnie closed her eyes, "I missed you too."

He kissed her neck again, along her shoulder, and then inhaled.

"Are you smelling me?" she asked, amused.

"Yes I am." Damon grinned against her shoulder, and she smiled.

"How do I smell?" Bonnie asked.

Damon laughed, "Perfect." he told her and held her tighter.

They just sat there in silence for a few moments before he sighed.

"I might be a father."

Bonnie turned her head a little to glance at him, "And, if you are. We'll figure it out."

He nodded, resting his face against hers, "Hopefully."

She placed her hands over his, "We will." she assured him.

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

"It's good that you're here." Haley said to Damon as they were at Bonnie's therapy appointment.

He smiled a bit, "It's good to be here, I hate that I missed so much progress."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Don't think that way."

Damon stepped over to her and leaned against the table, "I'll try."

Haley smiled, less judgmental than she had been at the beginning of all this.

"Alright, we've done the stretches so, let's get you walking." Haley smiled and Damon helped Bonnie up off the table.

Bonnie stood and while her legs were sore, she was able to walk forward, and Damon smiled.

"Finally." she sighed.

Haley and Damon walked beside her around the room for a bit, as she held Damon's hand.

"Now, you can walk, but take it easy, no running, jumping, dancing, or driving yet. Give it some time, and come back for a few more appointments." Haley told her and she nodded.

Before they headed home, Damon shoved the wheel chair in the trunk, and Bonnie was glad to have been able to walk through the parking lot to the car.

"You look so relieved." he noted, and she nodded.

"I can walk." she chuckled, "So, of course I am."

Damon leaned down and kissed her nose before opening her car door for her.

The sun had set, and Bonnie was kind of sleepy, so she looked out the window during the drive home. For once, the silence was actually nice again. Sure, she was still contemplating life, the future, things she needed to tell Damon, but at the same time, she wasn't so worried that it was making her sick.

When they got home, Wayne took their coats, and they headed into the living room. Just as they were about to sit down, Damon's phone rang. When he pulled it out and it was a number that wasn't in his contacts, his heart sped up a little.

"I think it's the lab." he said to Bonnie, standing up and answering it.

"This is he." Damon replied when they asked for him.

Bonnie watched his face, trying to read it, but it was difficult.

"Okay." he said, and she was dying to know what was happening.

"Alright, thank you." Damon swallowed and hung up the phone, shoving it back in his pocket.

Bonnie sat down on the couch, "What did they said?" she asked.

"Uh.." he started, "It isn't mine." he said slowly and sat down beside her.

Damon scrubbed a hand over his face and she scooted closer to him, furrowing her brow.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked, getting a feeling that, he wasn't exactly happy about the news, but it wasn't exactly the worst news either.

He shrugged, "I don't know..." he looked down for a second.

"I'm kind of disappointed, I guess." Damon admitted, "For a brief moment I thought I was going to have a kid. I wasn't necessarily excited, but the it hurts a little, having that pulled away from me all the sudden."

She nodded, understanding more than he knew how he felt, and she knew she needed to tell him about the memory swimming around in her head.

"I understand." Bonnie told him holding his hand.

Damon looked at her, squeezing her hand back.

"I want to tell you about Kai." she said randomly, but it wasn't random at all.

"You don't need to do that, you don't have too." he assured her.

She shook her head, "No, it's important. I think you'll, understand some things, if I tell you."

"Alright, I'm listening then." Damon said and linked his fingers with hers.

Bonnie inhaled, trying to get her thoughts together, but the truth was, she had gone through what she wanted to say a few times in the last two days. She just needed to build the nerve up to say it.

She exhaled, "A few days before Kai got into his fight, and was arrested, I found out I was pregnant."

Damon blinked, having not expected these words and his grip on her hand loosened as he processed, but before he could she was already talking again.

"During the fight.." Bonnie started, "I was there, and I tried to stop it, get in the middle even though I knew that wasn't a good idea."

He didn't like where this was going, and his heart was aching again, he held her hand tighter, just looking straight into her face, that got more and more dismal as the seconds passed.

She swallowed, her eyes a little wet as she went to continue.

"Kai was engulfed in the fight, and he didn't realize I had jumped in." she explained, "He pushed me out of the way, and I fell down the stairs at Whitmore, the one's near the fountain."

Bonnie's hands were shaky and she wasn't so sure she could finish the story, but she knew she needed too.

Damon's eyes were stinging as he waited for the part that he was dreading on hearing.

"I.. I fell down the stairs, and.. I um.." her choice crackled and she had to take another breath, "I lost the baby." she told him.

Tears dripped over her lash line, "Kai never knew I was pregnant, or that I lost.. the baby. Caroline doesn't know either, I only told my dad about it." Bonnie inhaled, looking down, her tears dropping to her lap.

"Oh, Bonnie." he said slowly, looking at her brokenly, his chest hurting. All he needed were the right words, but they were so hard to find.

He couldn't have even imagined, this was the reason for her not wanting to see Kai.

"I wasn't even sure if I wanted to keep the baby at that time, and I didn't want to marry Kai." Bonnie admitted, "But, having the ability to decide to have the baby, or not, ripped away from me all of the sudden hurt." she sniffled and looked back up at him.

"I'm so sorry, Bon." Damon whispered, reaching a hand out and wiping at her wet cheek with his thumb.

"I know Kai didn't mean to hurt me, and he didn't even know. He isn't a bad person, but, when I think about him, I think about... what happened." she said softly.

He inhaled, and shook his head.

"I wish I knew what to say."

Bonnie wiped at her face, "You're here for me, that's enough." she assured him, and placed her hand over theirs.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you." Damon repeated, his own eyes a bit wet.

"Me too. But, everything happens for a reason, right?" she asked him.

He nodded, "That's the saying."

Bonnie leaned over and pressed her face against his shoulder, tired, weepy, and kind of hungry.

Sniffling, she wiped at her face again, before sitting back up, "I think, I'm going to take a bath, do you think you could make us something to eat?"

Damon nodded, "Of course." he replied and stood up, taking her hand and she stood up as well.

He walked with her to the stairs and she looked at them, they were daunting. This would be the first time she walked up them, since falling down them a month before.

"You got this." he whispered and put a hand on her back.

Bonnie inhaled, and held onto the railing, heading up the stairs and Damon stood at the bottom, watching it.

Once she got to the top she turned around and smiled a bit at him.

"See, I told you." he smiled a little back and she nodded.

Bonnie turned and walked slowly into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She stripped off her clothing, and headed into the bathroom, plugging the bath and turning on the hot and cold water.

Putting her hair up, she climbed into the bath sometime later and turned the water off.

She felt lighter, after telling Damon about the incident, and although she wasn't proud of it, she was relived that Melanie's child wasn't Damon's. But she understood why Damon would be a little disappointed.

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Damon was in the kitchen, chatting with Wayne as he cooked, and as Stefan wasn't home, no one had noticed when someone walked straight up the stairs, and into Damon's room.

Bonnie was a little drowsy, so she hardly even heard the bathroom door open. Before she knew it, two hands pressed down on her shoulder and she underwater.

Her eyelids opened and through the water she saw the blurry face and figure of who was definitely Alice.

She tried desperately not to breath in and fight against her. Bonnie managed to push up and out of the water inhaling deeply.

"Help!" she screamed but half way through she was shoved under again, this woman was a lot stronger than Bonnie realized.

Moving her arms and legs, she tried to fight back, but it was difficult and instantly, she breathed inwards and started to choke.

The second her body stopped moving, Alice rushed out of the room and down the stairs.

Bonnie knew she was going to drown if she didn't move upwards, but everything was blurry, and her head was floating, in more than one way.

Damon heard the front door slam when Alice ran out it, and he walked out of the kitchen, confused.

"Bonnie?" he said slowly, and had a bad feeling.

He dropped the spoon he had on the floor and rushed up the stairs.

"Bonnie!" he called again as he made it into the room.

When he got to the bathroom, he inhaled, seeing Bonnie under the water in the bathtub and rushed over, grabbing her and pulling her upwards, her head out of the water.

With the force of the pull, water poured out of her mouth and she started to cough, gasping for air.

"Alice." she inhaled deeply, "Alice."

* * *

Please _ **Leave A Review**_!


	19. Announcement

Just an announcement that a tumblr has been made for Married by Circumstance!

it's simply, marriedbycircumstance dot/ tumblr /dot /com

Updates will be announced there, sneak peaks given, questions answered, and you can even post reactions with the tag #MBCReactions

Edit:

Twitter has also been made! it's MBCFicOfficial


	20. The Past is Prologue

**A/N:** This chapter contains **mature** content.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 19** \- The Past is Prologue_

Staring frightened down at Bonnie as she leaned out of the bathtub, Damon watched her continue to try and catch her breath.

"Alice, she.. tried to drown me." Bonnie repeated, and as soon as the thought hit her a few more times she started to climb out of the bathtub in a panic rush, despite the fact that her legs hurt and her lungs burned.

"Hey, hey." Damon said quickly grabbed her and helping her out of the tub. She collapsed into his lap dripping wet and he grabbed the nearest towel, wrapping it around her body.

Bonnie swallowed, blinking away the water along her lashes, "She's.. she's going to get away." she huffed, hands shaky. When she tried to get up again, Damon held her tighter and kept her from moving.

She looked around, alarmed and Damon moved one of his hands up to turn her face to look at him.

"You're okay." he told her, and Bonnie looked up at him her with wide green eyes, dark hair clinging to the side of her head and face.

She leaned forward and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You're alright." Damon repeated, holding his wife who was trembling, kindred to a disheveled and damp little bird. However, the string of lucid slurs that buzzed near his ear, assured him that Bonnie was far from craven.

He reached down and pulled his phone from his pocket; dialing the police with a slightly wet thumb, and lifted the phone to his ear.

"Nine-one-one operator. What is your emergency?" the female voice answered.

"Hello, uh.." Damon stammered a bit, feeling king of shaky, which was unusual because he normally was pretty composed, this wasn't the first time he'd had to call the police.

He cleared his throat and glanced down at Bonnie, "Our maid, attempted to drown my wife in the bathtub. I pulled her out, but she had already ran out of the house."

"Alright, where are you, sir?" she asked.

After giving her the address, he told her his name.

"Don't hang up, an officer is on the way... Is your wife hurt?"

Damon looked at Bonnie who had calmed down a bit and was just looking up at him.

"I think she's okay."

Once Bonnie didn't feel like her heart was ready to burst from her chest, she stood up, and tightened the towel around her body, face flushing.

Damon stood up after her, a little damp, and gave her a reassuring look as he stayed on the line with the police. When she motioned him, he stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed, so she could get dressed. Bonnie finished drying her hair, before changing into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, since they would most likely need to leave the house talk with the police. She slowly combed her hair and when she got back into the bedroom, Damon was changed as well.

"Think they're here." he told her and she sighed, shoving on her sneakers, putting her phone in her back pocket and walking down the stairs behind him.

Damon hung up the phone after telling the operator that the car was outside the house.

"What's happened?" Wayne asked, having been downstairs, confused the whole time.

"Alice tried to drown her." he explained, and the butler had the same frightened and worried look now that they did.

Wayne grabbed Bonnie's jacket off the rack and set it over her shoulders.

"Thanks." she said quietly, and slid her arms into the sleeves. Damon got his jacket and as they stepped outside the wind was cold, wispy snow falling to the ground.

A female police officer with dark hair pulled back in a bun, stepped over to them near the squad car; red and blue lights pulsing along the area.

"I'm Officer Kline,are you Damon Salvatore?" she spoke, pulling out a notepad and pen that were clipped to her pocket.

"I am, this is my wife, Bonnie." he nodded.

"The call said, that your maid, tried to drown you?" Kline asked, looking at both of them.

Bonnie swallowed, "Yes, I was in the bath and she came in, put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me down. She ran out, afterward."

Kline nodded and wrote this down, "Has she ever tried to hurt you before, or anyone else?"

"I.. I don't know." she sighed, her head hurting a bit.

"A few weeks ago, she was pushed down the stairs, but we aren't sure of who did this." Damon explained, as he continued talking, answering a few more questions Bonnie looked to the side and could see the very small blurry figures of some of the neighbors outside, looking over curiously at the situation.

Officer Kline stepped over to the car and spoke into the walkie talkie, and after a few seconds listened, and stepped back over to them.

"They found Alice, they're bringing her in for questioning. It would be helpful if you two would come to the station for some more questioning as well." she said and they nodded.

"Let me know when you're ready, I'll follow you there." the officer said and moved back to her car.

Damon sighed and turned to face Bonnie.

"You have no idea, how badly I want a drink." he admitted, scrubbing a hand over his face.

Bonnie frowned and wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing her face against his chest.

"Just breathe." she whispered, and he wrapped his arms around her as well, hugging her tightly.

Damon leaned down and kissed the top of her head once.

"I need to go get some things." Bonnie told him before breaking the hug and walking back through the open door of the house.

While walking around, she pulled her phone out and clicked on Caroline's contact, putting the phone up to her ear.

The phone rang as she looked around for her purse.

"Hey, Bonnie." Caroline answered.

"Hey.." Bonnie started, "So I thought I should let you know this.."

Her friend interrupted her before she could finished, "What happened?"

"Well, Alice tried to drown me in the bathtub." she replied and there was a pause before Caroline spoke.

"What the hell?" she asked.

Bonnie chuckled tiredly, "My thoughts exactly... Anyway, we're going to the station, if you want to meet us there."

"Of course. My mom is probably still there too." Caroline told her.

Bonnie grabbed her purse when she found it, and headed back out the front door, this time closing it behind her.

"Okay, I'll see you there." she said slowly, looking around for Damon and saw him leaning against the side of the started Camaro.

As she was walking over there, Stefan's car was pulling into the driveway.

He rolled down the window as he got close to them.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked, confused.

Damon stepped over, "Just follow us to the precinct, we'll tell you when we get there."

"Alright." Stefan said with a concerned look and rolled the window back up.

Bonnie was shivering a bit from the cold, the snow coming down heavier and she moved over to get in the passenger side of the car.

She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Several hours, a few donuts, and a couple dozen questions later, Caroline, Damon, Stefan and Bonnie were all sitting in padded chairs that they scooted together near a empty desk.

Bonnie had her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm, and Caroline was lying again her.

"I don't understand why Alice would do any of this." Stefan shook his head, but as they all looked at each other, it was obvious they suspected the same person of being behind this.

Giuseppe.

"She isn't going this on her own, that's all I know." Damon sighed, scooting his chair closer to Bonnie's.

Caroline ran her fingers through her hair, "Well, my moms not going to let her get away with it, don't worry."

Bonnie looked over at her friend, hoping that all the drama following her around wouldn't seep into her life too much. They were always there for each other; but, the last thing she wanted was Caroline to get dragged into the whole mess.

Sheriff Liz, Caroline's mother came waking over to them a few moments later.

"Any good news?" Stefan asked, turning around in his chair to look at her.

"Unfortunately, Alice isn't giving us any information. She has admitted to trying to drown Bonnie, but won't say why." Liz told them and they all sighed simultaneously.

"The strange part is that she didn't ask for a lawyer, she asked to call Giuseppe and he's setting up a lawyer for her." she continued, and Bonnie shot Damon a look.

Liz folded her arms over her chest, "Alice won't be let go, since she admitted to trying to hurt you, but we can't bring in Giuseppe to question him unless he speaks up."

Bonnie nodded, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Liz pursed her lips, "You've said you don't know anything, so you don't need to stay any longer. But, it would be helpful if you could agree to come back tomorrow, maybe talk to Alice yourself."

"I don't think having her near Bonnie is a good idea." Damon said, clearly disagreeing.

Bonnie touched his foot with her foot before speaking, "If you think she might speak up if I question her, then I'll be here."

Liz nodded, "Stay safe and call me personally if anything else happens."

They all nodded and Liz walked away from them. Everyone was stressed, and it was obvious on their faces.

"I guess we should leave now." Caroline stood up from her chair and pulled her coat back on.

"I don't want to go home just yet, do you think we can, walk around a bit? There's a Midnight Cafe down the block." Bonnie suggested standing up and putting on her coat as well.

She needed to get away from the bright lights and noise of the police station. Damon stood up beside her and instantly threaded his fingers with hers.

"I'm down with that." Stefan replied, zipping his coat and shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

They all headed out of the building and into the snowy, cool, streets dimly lit by street lamps and Christmas lights wrapped around the poles and on the storefronts windows.

"I can't believe it's almost Christmas." Bonnie said quietly, as she walked holding hands with Damon along the sidewalk. Stefan and Caroline walking in front of them.

"Me either." Damon replied, looking down and over at her.

"What do we all want for Christmas?" Caroline smiled, looking back at them for a second, trying to lighten the mood.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "You go first." she said so she had time to think.

The blond looked along the streets, they were most empty, but there were a dozen or so people still out and about, walking around with mugs of coffee, goofing off with the thin three inch layer of snow on the ground.

"Oh, I know. The box set of Law and Order." Caroline grinned.

Stefan smiled, "I love Law and Order."

"Ugh yes." Bonnie chuckled, and Damon just smiled down at her.

He was glad that she was smiling, walking around again, with her friends and it was nice that his brother seemed to be included in that area now.  
"I'm not sure what I want for Christmas." Stefan said honestly.

"Yeah, it's a little hard when you have the money to buy everything yourself." Damon agreed as they looked both ways and crossed a street.

Bonnie licked at her lips, "True...Although, I would like to finally get that new Nikon."

Caroline nodded, "Oh yeah, the one in red?"

"No with the, red outline." she chuckled.

They all continued walking and eventually they had to cross the main road so Bonnie pushed the light button and they waited for the white Walkman to show up.

"Oh, or tickets to DNCE!" Caroline said randomly once they got across the road.

Everyone made a similar noise of agreement at the same time and they started to laugh.

"Hey, we all like DNCE." Bonnie smiled, and caressed Damon's hand with her thumb.

"Why won't we all go sometime? They are coming to Charlottesville in January." Stefan suggested.

Damon nodded, "Yeah, that would be fun. Aren't Fall Out Boy coming in February?"

"No that's March." Bonnie replied.

"If we have fun at DNCE we should do FOB." Caroline smiled.

"Definitely, if they're not sold out." Stefan agreed.

Bonnie leaned her head against Damon shoulder, "I've never actually been to a concert, you know, neither has Caroline."

Stefan chuckled, "I have been to one, Damon's never been though."

"Really?" Caroline asked, looking back a bit, "That doesn't surprise me that much honestly."

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Well, you have a serious business vibe going on." she admitted, and he chuckled.

"I am a serious businessman, that's probably why." he said as they stopped in front of the Midnight Cafe.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I'm not even going to bring up the several things you've done that show you're not all serious."

Damon smirked, and held her hand tighter.

They all walked into the cafe, where only about seven people with their laptops or tablets were sitting around in the booths. The lights were dim, and alternative music was playing faintly throughout. Everyone ordered a hot cider and sat down at one of the booths with their warm tall cardboard cups.

Bonnie sat beside Damon, holding his hand underneath the table and Stefan sat with Caroline on the other side.

"I haven't been here in a while." Bonnie mused, looking around for a moment, sipping at her cider.

"Yeah, we used to come here a lot." Caroline said unzipping her coat.

Damon scooted closer to Bonnie and sipped his drink as well.

He was still craving a drink, but it wasn't as bad. Putting his thoughts on other thinks and focusing on drinking the apple cider, was a good distraction. Even if he did want to clock his father in the head right about now, whether or not he knew for sure he was behind what Alice had done.

"You alright?" Stefan asked his brother, noticing the way he was zoning out.

Damon exhaled, "I'm just pissed at what happened to Bonnie." he admitted.

Bonnie looked over at him, rubbing her thumb along the side of his hand.

"Yeah, almost dying isn't great." she said with a shake of her head.

"I know they'll get it figured out." Caroline assured her, reaching across the table to touch her free hand.

Bonnie smiled a bit, "Thanks."

They all sat, drinking their cider until finally it was a half hour after midnight and they knew they all needed to get home. They tossed their cups in the trash and headed back outside into the cold.

Bonnie shivered a little, and Damon reached over, pulling Stefan's scarf from around his neck.

"Hey!" Stefan said giving him a look.

He shrugged and draped it around Bonnie's shoulders.

She smiled, "You didn't need to do that."

"Nevertheless, I did." Damon took her hand again and they all started down the sidewalk.

"Do you need a ride home?" Stefan asked Caroline as they walked several feet ahead of Bonnie and Damon. He had remembered that she took a taxi to the station.

Caroline pursed her lips, "Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks."

He smiled, his green eyes bright and she blushed a little, but look away quickly.

They continued walking ahead of them, and once they got back to the station, Caroline hugged Bonnie and followed Stefan through the parking lot.

Damon and Bonnie were parked around the other side.

"So, we should plan on getting those DNCE tickets soon." Stefan mentioned, the blond looked over at him, hands in her coat pockets, her nose red from the cold.

"We should." Caroline smiled, and leaned against his car once they got there.

Stefan just looked at her for several moments before speaking, "I'm sorry Bonnie got hurt."

"Me too." she said with a sigh, "But, she's okay. That's what matters."

"Right." he agreed and stepped a little closer, leaned over and opened the passenger door for her.

Caroline eyed him, he was maybe 6 inches away from her face.

"We should all hang out together more often, in better circumstances." she suggested.

"I would like that." Stefan smiled, leaned closer, expecting her to move away but she just looked straight back at him.

Caroline's lips were parted, a thick cool mist billowing in front of their faces from their breath.

"I'd kiss you, but I have a boyfriend." she whispered, her heart beating harder.

"What if I kissed you?" Stefan asked her, leaning in closer.

Caroline swallowed, "Then you'd be the guy who kissed a woman with a boyfriend."

"And you're the woman who is dissatisfied in her relationship. We've all got our baggage." he breathed and before he could do anything else, Caroline leaned upwards and pressed her lips against his.

Stefan kissed her back softly, but almost as quickly as it started, she pulled away.

"I.. No, I'm sorry. I should not have done that." she sighed

"Well, I'm not sorry. If I'm being honest." he said slowly, but took a step back from her.

Caroline ran her fingers through her hair, "I like you. But, I need to give Matt the ending he deserves. Until then, that can't happen."

"So, you admit you want to leave him?" Stefan asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Yes." she nodded, "I need to."

Stefan stepped further away and motioned towards the open door, "Then, I'll keep from tempting you until you leave him."

Caroline nodded and watched him walk around to the other side of the car, before she got into her seat.

* * *

After a quiet car ride, Damon and Bonnie were at home. It was after one in the morning, and Bonnie should have been more tired than she was, but honestly, she was just thinking about everything that had happened.

Damon closed the door behind them once they got inside, and they took off their coats and shoes.

"You alright, you didn't say much in the car?" he asked her, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Well, I would've like my bath to have gone differently that's for sure." Bonnie sighed and leaned against the bannister of the stairs.

Damon frowned, "I know, I'm sorry." he stepped over and placed two of his fingers along her cheek.

"Let's just go upstairs." she replied and turned around, but before she could walk up the stairs, Damon picked her up and into his arms.

"W-woah." Bonnie chuckled, as he carried her bridal style upstairs.

Damon smiled a bit, "Sweep you off your feet?"

She snorted, "Wow, you're a dork."

He flushed pink and set her back down on her feet when they got into the room.

Damon turned the light on and she sat down on the bed.

"You know, Alice will talk and if my father is behind this, we will know." he assured her, sitting beside her after setting his phone on the bed.

"I just wish I could remember why I was so upset when I was pushed down the stairs." Bonnie rested her chin in her hand.

Damon looked over at her, wishing he could say something to make everything terrible go away, but that wasn't reality.

Bonnie looked down, and noticed a notification on Damon's phone.

 _ **MISSED CALL FROM LEXI BRANSON**_

She blinked and licked at her lips.

"Who's Lexi?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.

Damon looked down and saw the notification just then too.

"Oh." he started, "She was at the clinic. I went to school with her."

Bonnie brushed her hair behind her ear, "High School or Business School?"

Damon pursed his lips, "Eh... Neither."

She raised an eyebrow, "But, you just said you went to school with her."

He nodded but was quiet, and she felt like there was something he didn't want to tell her. Which, wasn't a good feeling.

Bonnie eyed him, "Did you go out with her or something?"

Damon's eyes went wide, "No. No. I didn't even know her until she told me she went to the same school as me at the clinic." he assured her.

"Then, what am I missing?" she asked, "You can tell me."

He inhaled, "Alright, but no one else knows this so..." he started and she nodded, telling him she would listen.

"I went to medical school." Damon said slowly.

"What?" Bonnie asked, with a chuckle, surprised.

He nodded, "For almost four years, I went back and forth from Virginia Med."

"Did you graduate?" she asked, scooting closer.

"No. Because of the family, and my job, I did things online, and on compass, but I missed a lot of days and had to catch up on more than I should have. I ended up dropping out before the last trimester so I could focus on what my father wanted." Damon explained.

Bonnie frowned, "You went to College for almost four years and no one in your family noticed?"

He chuckled, "You'd be surprised what they didn't notice. Bonnie, since I've been married to you, I've spoken to my family more than they usually talk to me in a year."

"Seriously?" she blinked.

"Yeah. It seems crazy, but you've brought me closer to other people. I didn't used to care as much as I do now." Damon started, "I was all about myself, yet I did everything my family asked of me; though not without an attitude."

"That's terrible. I mean, you obviously went because it's what you wanted." Bonnie said, furrowing her brow.

Damon looked away for a second, "I wanted to be a doctor, maybe even a surgeon, but it just wasn't in the cards."

She lifted her hand, turning his face back towards her and looked at him.

"Hey, don't say that. You told me not to do something I didn't want, supported me in quitting Whitmore." Bonnie said softly, caressing his face, "If being a doctor, is what you still want. I'm here for it."

Damon touched her hand, "There's so much going on, and my father would never support it. I don't know how it would work. I'd need to go back to school."

"I'm not saying decide now, just don't take it off the table, babe." she leaned upwards and kissed him.

He kissed her back gently, and touched the side of her face for a moment, before it fell back downwards.

"Now that I don't need to worry about being drowned, I think I'll take an actual bath, now." Bonnie said and stood up from the bed, brushing her hair behind her shoulders.

"Good idea, relax." Damon agreed and watched her gather her pajamas, and walk into the bathroom, closing the door.

Bonnie turned on the water, pluged the tub and watched as it filled up. She got an ache in her stomach while she watched, thinking about what had happened the last time. But she tried to remember thet Alice was gone, Damon was there. She was safe.

She pulled her clothing off and tied her hair up with a band, and shut the water off when the bath had filled up with clear hot water. Inhaling she slowly got into the tub and the water pushed upwards, up to the top of her breasts and Bonnie leaned her head back. Staring the the ceiling, she tried to focus on breathing and not remembering being pushed under the water.

Swallowing, she closed her eyes and breathed in then out, repeat.

"You doing okay?" Damon asked through the door.

"Yeah." Bonnie replied, and heard the small shuffling of him walking away from the door.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but once she was feeling calmer, she finished washing up and got out of the tub.

Bonnie pulled the plug in the bath and watched the water drain out before grabbing her towel and drying off. After she got dressed in her soft pajama pants and tank top, she then brushed her teeth while counting to sixty two times. She felt calmer, not as worried as she had been. A lot of that was thanks to Damon. He was right; Alice was with the police, and eventually she'd say something.

When she opened the door and turned off the light, the bedroom was dimly lit by the moonlight, shining through the doors of the balcony, the curtains having been slid to the sides. Honestly, before now Bonnie had hardly noticed Damon had a balcony.

"Feeling better?" Damon's voice came from the bed, and her eyes flickered over, seeing him lying in bed, covered by the duvet.

Bonnie stepped closer and slid into bed beside him, noticing he was shirtless as he lay on his side facing her.

"Yeah, actually." she replied, lying on her side as well, pulling the blanket up to her hip.

He smiled just a bit, and reached a hand over, running it along her arm.

"Everything will be okay." he assured her, and she scooted closer.

"I know. I just, can't wait for all of this to be over and dealt with." Bonnie sighed.

Damon's blue eyed were bright even in the darkness, and as they scanned over her face, she felt safe. With the three weeks she had been indisposed, they had only known each other a month; yet, she had grown closer to him at a pace she didn't think was possible. It was quick, yet it felt like a million years, all in a blink. It was confusing, yet the clearest thing she had ever experienced.

"Me either, Bon-Bon." he whispered, and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers, and she closed her eyes, kissing him back softly in response.

Bonnie moved closer to him, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, feeling his warm skin underneath her palm. Damon's skin tingled at the sensation of hers and he moved his arm loosely over her side.

As she tried to deepen the kiss, she could have sworn he pulled away just a little, as if rejecting it. Bonnie had noticed that for the last few days, Damon was gentle with her. Every kiss, every touch, was soft, as though she might break. She could understand this when she had first gotten out, but her bruises were nearly healed, not counting to few new ones, and she was far from breakable.

Pulling away she looked straight into his face.

"You don't need to be so careful with me, you know." Bonnie whispered, aching for the same tight grip he'd once held her with, the feel of his teeth against her skin, his tongue against her neck. She hadn't felt that since the first time, and while she'd nearly forgotten about it recently, in that moment she wanted to feel it again.

Damon pulled her tighter against him and kissed her again, this time with a bit more passion. Bonnie's eyelids fluttered closed again, and she kissed him back, running her hand up his shoulder, and to the back of his head. As his tongue slowly coaxed it's way into her mouth, Bonnie tangled her fingers in the back of his hair. Their tongues pushed up against each other, trying to find their rhythm, and she tugged on his hair gently. Damon responded by moaning quietly, sending a vibration into her mouth.

Bonnie deepened the kiss further, feeling his hand slid along the small of her back, underneath her tank top. He broke the kiss, in order to breath, but after a second, kissed her again, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and biting it affectionately. She cooed, her ears and face flushing, gripping his hair tighter and he let go of her lip with a suction sound.

"God, I fucking missed you." Damon husked, pressing his nose against her face for a breather.

Bonnie chuckled breathlessly, "I've been with you all day."

He kissed along her cheek, "I'll be honest." he started, pausing to rub his nose along her jawline and slowly drag it back up near her nose, "I miss you whenever you're not in the same room as me."

She kept her eyes closed and just listened to him, feeling him caress her face with his nose.

"Whenever I can't see you, whenever you look away from me, whenever your voice is not flowing in my direction." Damon practically purred, running his hand downwards from her back, and along her ass.

"I miss you always." he continued, causing every inch of her body to go warm, and have goosebumps at the same time.

Bonnie inhaled, opening her eyes and looking at him when she felt his eyes on her. Damon has moved his face back up and was looking directly back at her.

"I miss you always." she whispered, lips turning up at the edges.

 _(Note, from here till the end of the scene, there will be mature sexual content)_

Damon smiled sweetly back at her, a smile that was reserved just for her.

He leaned in closer, just close enough so that their lips where nearly touching.

"Since, we're taking things slow on the sex aspect..." he started quietly, "I was thinking we could try something tonight, just one step of many."

Bonnie's hand slid out from his hair and back along his shoulder, "Oh?" she asked, curious.

"There are quiet a few ways to achieve..." he smirked, "pleasure." Damon leaned his head over, and kissed along her jawline, down her neck.

"Why don't you let me help you?" he asked, his voice low. Bonnie swallowed hard, closing her eyes at his lips against her neck.

"Just me?" she asked him.

"Mhm." Damon replied, and she shivered when he ran the tip of his tongue along the brown skin of her neck.

Bonnie exhaled dizzily, "Most guys wouldn't do that."

He chuckled against her neck, "Well, it's a good thing you didn't marry them."

Damon ran his hand that was on her ass, around and dragged his fingers along the waistband of her pajama pants.

"Don't worry, it doesn't have to be a big step." he assured her, "Just a little touch." he kissed her neck again.

Bonnie bit at her lip, "W-Where have you been hiding this seduction?" she asked him, a smile burning on her lips.

Damon breathed right below her ear, "Believe me, this isn't even half of how alluring I can be."

A small sound came from her throat on it's own. He continued to run his fingers along her waistline, while a pool of warmth lay between her thighs.

"Do you want me to help you?" he asked her, and she was having a hard time thinking straight, at a loss for words.

Damon chuckled and moved his face from her neck, eying her face.

"Baby, I'm not going to do anything until I get your consent." he told her, using all the willpower he had not to slide his hand into her pants until she gave him a verbal agreement.

"I want to _touch_ you, may I?" Damon whispered, and Bonnie found her voice through the dizzying heat.

"Yes, please." Bonnie told him, and his fingers slid underneath her waist band and into her soft cotton panties. His finger tips lingered along the top of her pilose pubic area for a moment, before sliding downwards.

By the way she tensed up, he could tell she was feeling a little insecure, so he kept his eyes on her face.

"If you want me to stop, at any time, tell me." Damon told her, and pressed his face against the side of hers as he ran his fingers along her wet folds and found the hood of her clit.

He teased her, and started to circle his fingers around her hidden clit, using his thumb to massage just above.

Bonnie moaned softly, leaning her head backwards against the pillow more, breaking Damon's contact with her face.

It had been quiet a while since anyone but herself had brought her pleasure, and a lot of the time, they could hardly find her clit; but as Damon applied some pressure to it, making her hips buck up... He obviously didn't have this problem.

"Ohh.." she breathed, letting her eyes close.

Damon pushed the hood upwards and started to rub her sensitive nub slowly, driving her to grind along with him, in order to urge him to pick up the pace. However, he was enjoying teasing her with his gradual movements.

As he rubbed her, Bonnie grabbed at his hair again, tangling her fingers in it as she moved her hips against his hand.

"F-faster, Damon." she breathed, and moaned when he listened.

Damon started to rub circle along her clit faster, picking up the pace much quicker than she'd expected and she gripped his hair tightly. He grunted, his own arousal getting hard to deny. But this wasn't about him, he wanted to bring her pleasure.

Bonnie could the tightness in her abdomen as she grew closer to coming.

"Oh, fuck." she exhaled heavily, her free hand grabbing desperately at the sheets on the bed.

Damon leaned forward, grinning against the side of her warm face.

He picked up the speed even more, and Bonnie's eyelids fluttered, her thighs closing quickly and squeezing together then her legs bend back outwards, her toes tensing.

Bonnie moaned, her back arching as she came. She gasped for air, but Damon didn't stop there, he continued rubbing at her clit, harder and faster this time, until she came a second time.

"D-Damon!" she choked out, when he slowly slid two fingers inside her, his thumb massaging her clit.

"Bonnie." he whispered, and kissed along her face softly, giving a nice contrast to the heated, wet and intense scene going on underneath the blanket.

Once his two fingers could slide comfortably inside her, despite her tight walls, he started to move them faster.

Bonnie moved her hips along with him, her forehead beaded with sweat and the air in the room was a thick and hot.

"Ohh, faster." she begged, tilting her head back further.

"As you wish." Damon replied, picking up his pace and applying more pressure to her clit.

He felt her tighten around his fingers and she moaned, a wantonly, breathy, shaky moan.

"Three." he whispered, and she exhaled, her hand falling out of his hair.

Damon still didn't stop, in fact he didn't stop until she had orgasmed two more times, making it a odd numbered five.

When his hand finally slipped out from her panties and pants, from under the blanket, Bonnie cooed exhaustively.

"Holy crap." she breathed, raking her fingers through her hair.

Damon chuckled, and immediately pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her.

"I think that was a nice step." he teased, pressing his face against hers.

Bonnie closed her eyes and inhaled, still trying catch her breath.

"Hell yeah." she replied, and they both laughed at the same time.

Damon hummed lowly, smelling at her hair and her face, like she was a flower.

"You're such a good man, do you know that?" Bonnie asked, melting into his arms.

"I have my insecurities about that." he admitted.

She shifted in her position so she could wrap her arms around him as well.

"Well, I'm here to remind you, when you doubt yourself." she said hushed, and pressed her lips against his.

"Thank you." Damon said softly, and kissed her back with a small smile.

* * *

When Bonnie woke up in the morning, she woke up on her side, with Damon pressed up against her from behind, his face against her shoulder. He was clearly still asleep, as soft snores came from him and she smiled a little.

She touched Damon's hand that was draped over her waist. Bonnie inhaled, letting the blurriness clear from her eyes and yawned quietly. She wasn't sure what time it was, but a clear white light from the reflection of the snow was shining in from outside.

Bonnie rolled over very slowly and looked at his face. After a moment she ghosted her fingers along his scuffy jawline and gave his nose a peck. She got up out of the bed and stretched her arms above her head.

"I'll make us some coffee." she whispered to herself, and grabbed a pair of leggings and a t-shirt. After cleaning up and getting dressed in the bathroom, she headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bonnie." Wayne said standing near the entrance to the kitchen.

"Good morning." she replied and walked in, "Did Stefan come home last night?"

Wayne turned and walked in the kitchen as well.

"Around two, I believe." he told her.

Bonnie got the coffee pot set up, poured the water in and pressed the 'brew' button.

She stood, leaning against the counter, and pulled her hair from the messy pony tail it was in. Smiling, she remembered what had happened with Damon. It made her thighs warm, and her legs were a little weak from the sensuous act.

Bonnie cleared her throat and tousled her hair with her hand.

"You don't know anything about why Alice did what she did, do you?" she asked Wayne who sighed disappointingly.

"I am afraid not. I'm appalled that she would hurt you, I assure you Mrs. Bonnie." he told her.

Bonnie pursed her lips and nodded, "Well, please tell me if you think of anything.

Wayne nodded at her and headed out of the kitchen when there was a knock at the door.

She sighed and watched the coffee slowly brew.

"I should probably call my dad." she mumbled, realizing that Rudy would probably want to know about what had happened the night before.

However before she could turn and get to the phone, Wayne came walking back in.

"Someone is at the door, asking for you Mrs. Bonnie." he told her.

Bonnie blinked, "Alright, thanks."

She headed out of the kitchen and started over at the closed front door, grabbing the handle.

When she opened the door, and looked forward, her heart squeezed in her chest. Looking at the curly brown hair woman, her brown eyes looked right back at her, with her facial structure that mirrored Bonnie's.

Bonnie's hands went to her sides, and she found her voice.

"Mom?"

* * *

Please ** _leave a review_**


	21. Sub Rosa Agreement

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait, I had some trouble getting motivated.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 20** \- Sub Rosa Agreement  
_

Bonnie stared at the woman before her. It was a face she hadn't seen in thirteen years, and while part of her wanted to close the door and wake up from whatever dream she was having, she found that she could hardly breath, much less move.

"Bonnie." Abby said, her hands in front of her body and she looked at her daughter with apologetic but almost content brown eyes.

"W-what are..." Bonnie started, having to inhale to get her wits about her, "What are you doing here?"

The cool air blew in from outside, but she didn't invite this women inside, and she didn't move out of the door frame. It was like a vision, Bonnie wasn't even sure this was actually happening. How after 13 thirteen years, was Abby standing right in front of her as though she'd never left?

She looked older, her face was fuller and her hair was longer but still curly, just like Bonnie's. She was at least 7 inches taller than Bonnie.

"I heard about, you being in the coma." Abby explained, shoving her hands into her winter coat pockets, "I would have come sooner but I wasn't sure if I should come at all."

Bonnie swallowed, eyed her mother for a moment with a blank stare.

"And, you decided to come anyway?" she asked slowly.

Abby furrowed her brow, "I know that, there's not much I can say to make this easier. But, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She pursed her lips, "No Abby, there's _nothing_ you can say to make this easier, or better. If you really cared about me being okay, you would never have left."

Her mother nodded, "I understand you're upset with me b-" she was quickly interrupted.

"No you don't understand. I've loved you completely for the last thirteen years since you've been gone, but that doesn't mean I'm going to talk to you like you've been here." Bonnie said seriously, her chest hurting.

After everything that had happened the last month, the last thing she wanted was the past coming back unannounced.

"Please, Nini, let me at least try and talk to you." Abby pleaded, but Bonnie lifted her hand grabbed the door and started to close it.

However, her mother pushed back against the door and Bonnie slid back a foot on the marble flooring.

"I don't want to talk to you." she told her, and before she could continue in the huff that was burning at the edges of her skin, Damon was walking down the stairs, shirtless, in his pajama pants.

"What's going on?" he asked as he stepped off the last step and saw the tense situation of the room.

Bonnie swallowed, and step further back from Abby who had taken a few steps into the house.

"Uh.." she started, "Damon this is my mother."

Damon's eyed widened and he took a good look at the woman. She certainly looked like Bonnie's mother, and by the look on his wife face, she wasn't too happy about this visit. Though, he knew very well why.

"Abby?" he questioned, and stepped over to Bonnie.

"Yes, you must be Damon Salvatore." Abby replied, looking at the two of them.

Damon nodded stiffly and put a hand behind Bonnie, resting his hand against the small of her back to comfort her.

"I was just telling her I don't want to speak with her." Bonnie said, moving closer to Damon, feeling dizzy.

"I came because I wanted to see if she was okay, I heard about the coma." Abby explained again, hoping her daughters new husband might be able to talk her into giving her a chance.

Damon cleared his throat, "That might be so, but if she doesn't want to talk with you then that's her choice."

Bonnie inhaled, and exhaled slowly. She wasn't feeling to good and every reason that her mother could've had for leaving didn't seem to matter. She wasn't prepared for this, she didn't want this. Bonnie had wanted to see her mother again for a long time, but in cold honesty, a person stops caring after so long.

Abby sighed. It wasn't as though she hadn't missed her daughter the last thirteen years. In fact, she missed Bonnie more than she could express, but she couldn't take back what she did. She could try and prevent anything more from happening to her daughter however; this is why she was there.

"Will you just tell me what happened? I heard you fell down the stairs, is there suspicion on foul play?" she asked, looking at the both of them, and watched their faces grow surprised.

Bonnie and Damon both shot each other a look.

How could Abby have possibly known that?

"There is some suspicion." Bonnie said slowly.

"Has anything else happened?" Abby asked, furrowing her brow.

Damon pursed his lips, and moved his arm completely around Bonnie, his hand resting on her hip.

"Last night our made, tried to drown her, but we still aren't sure why." he explained

Abby sighed but didn't look all that surprised; in fact she looked more upset with herself than anything.

She folded her arms, "I think I know why."

* * *

Despite the fact that Bonnie still wasn't sure how she felt about seeing Abby, and would much rather have time to herself to mull through it... Bonnie, Damon and Abby were all at the police station.

Abby claimed to have information on why Alice would want to hurt Bonnie, why Giuseppe would want to hurt Bonnie. None of them were sure if this was really true, but as they waited for Liz to call them into an interrogation room, even Damon was nervous.

"You alright?" Damon whispered, leaning over to Bonnie beside him.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "Not exactly." she replied.

He moved his hand over to hers and linked their fingers, giving her hand a squeeze. Bonnie squeezed back and leaned her head against his shoulder. He caressed the side of her hand and eyed the side of her face.

"It'll be okay." Damon assured her, and she nodded slowly. He leaned over, and kissed her face.

Abby glanced over at them from her seat across from them and then looked away as Liz walked over to them.

"Wow, I have to tell you when Damon called me and said Abby Bennett was back and had information I wasn't sure if he was serious." Liz said slowly, and Abby stood up.

"I don't blame you." she said with an apologetic look.

Damon was a little confused, and looked at Bonnie.

"Do they know each other?" he asked quietly.

"They went to High School together." she explained.

Damon blinked, "That's ironic. I guess you and Caroline weren't friends when you were little then?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No, I didn't even know our parents knew each other until we met."

"Alright, if you three will follow me." Liz said and motioned them away.

Bonnie and Damon stood up and follow Liz and Abby through the precinct.

They walked into a medium sized room, with a plane gray table and four chairs. Bonnie sat down next to Damon, Abby sat across from them and Liz remained standing.

It was an understatement to say Bonnie wasn't nervous. She wanted to know what Abby knew, whether or not seeing her was the most pleasant thing.

"Abby, you said you might have information on why Alice would hurt Bonnie?" Liz asked, her hands behind her back.

Abby nodded slowly, "It has to do with Giuseppe."

"We are suspicious of him, we haven't had any proof to put with it." she said, stepping to the side a bit.

Bonnie watched between them as they spoke.

"Before I ran off thirteen years ago, Giuseppe Salvatore paid me not to leak a company secret." her mother explained, "He paid of more than a dozen people to up his status, and he black mailed his rival Kellen Reynolds, forcing him to give over twenty of the most prestigious teachers to the Salvatore's."

Something clicked in Bonnie's brain, she wasn't sure, she couldn't figure out what it was. But, the news of Giuseppe paying her mother off, didn't surprise her as much as it should. It was buzzing in the back of her head like a fly.

"That's why you didn't take any money from father and I, you didn't need it." Bonnie said quietly, her eyes shifting over to Abby.

"Yes, I used that money to leave, so I didn't need to take anything." Abby nodded, her eyes flickering away from Bonnie and back to Liz.

"How did Giuseppe black mail this.. Kellen?" Liz asked, curious.

Abby shrugged, "I don't know the details completely, I know only that he was ready to black mail me once he knew I had found out."

Damon furrowed his brow still not understanding everything, "How do you even know all this?"

"I was negotiating a contract with Salvatore Ballet, I was in the wrong place, at the right time." Abby said with a sigh.

Liz folded her arms over her chest, "What else?"

"There was more, that I hadn't found out. I knew it because of how much he paid me. But, he did pay me, so much that I didn't care what else he was hiding." she said, looking a little ashamed.

"My father doesn't like people in his way. Of course he'd pay you as much as possible, whether or not you knew one thing or ten." Damon nodded, a angry look in his eyes.

The fact that his father was even a small part of Bonnie losing her mother was sickening.

Abby bit at her lips, "However, I only agreed to be paid off, upon an agreement between Giuseppe and I, a contract actually."

Bonnie tilted her head to the side.

"What agreement?" Liz asked, before she could.

"The agreement was that when Bonnie turned twenty one, she would gain part ownership of the company." she explained.

Everyone's eyes went wide, and Damon's heart did one hard twist inside his chest.

"I have never heard of this in my entire life." Damon said, his eyes shifted over to one of the walls as he racked his mind for any possible memory, but came up blank.

"Guiseppe obviously hid the whole thing." Bonnie mumbled, looking over at him.

She sighed, still a little confused, "I understand he wouldn't want me to own anything of his, but why marry me off to Damon if there's a chance I'd find out about it?"

Damon swallowed, "Because it was calculated. He doesn't want you to find out but he knew at some point Abby would be traced back to him."

Abby's eyes clicked over to them, "So he married Bonnie off to you."

Liz looked just as confused and shocked as everyone else, but she blinked and stepped over across the room. Grabbing a notepad and a pen she set it in front of Abby.

"If you can write down everything you said, that would be more than helpful." she said.

Abby nodded and clicked the pen open, starting to write.

Bonnie looked across at her mother, with a sad look on her face, then shook her head and looked back at Liz.

"We need to find some damn solid, tangible information." she mentioned and Damon nodded in agreement.

Liz moved to the other side of the room and opened the door, "Since you're here, Bonnie, would you mind talking to Alice?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No I don't mind."

Standing up, she gave Damon a quick glance before following Liz out of the room, and down the hall to another.

When the door opened, Bonnie saw Alice sitting at the table. She was looking downwards, her hands folded on the table.

"I'll be right on the other side of the mirror." Liz said quietly and motioned across the room.

Bonnie nodded, and watched as the door closed behind her.

She felt nervous, the aching in her stomach returning as she stood feet away from the woman who had tried to drown her, maybe even pushed her down the stairs.

"Mrs. Bonnie." Alice said slowly, looking upwards at her.

Bonnie swallowed, and crossed her arms over her self, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the table.

There was a notepad and pen sitting in the middle, along with a bottle of water, which was unopened.

"Alice." she said, inhaling slowly, "I need you to talk to me."

The woman's eyes shifted away from her face and to the wall behind her.

"You mean they need me to talk." Alice spoke.

Bonnie scooted the chair closer to the table, "They might need it, but I'm the one asking you."

Alice's face was sad, angry, and a had a bit of a frightened look to it.

She had spent the night in a jail cell, that couldn't have been pleasant.

"I need to know why you tried to drown me." she insisted, her forehead creasing.

"That is what you were trying to do, when you shoved me down in the bathtub, right?" Bonnie asked, but she still say anything.

"When you pushed me down the stairs, was me surviving not expected?"she added.

She wasn't sure that Alice was the one who pushed her, but the look in her eyes, that sparked up at the mention of the stairs incident, gave her a clear answer.

"So you did push me." Bonnie whispered, "Why?"

Alice looked back over at her, "Because I just did."

Bonnie sighed, "It's more than that, you know it."

"I don't like you, that's why." she insisted, but there was an anxiousness on her face.

"That's a lie." Bonnie just stared at her, "Do you know about the agreement?"

Alice blinked and looked away quickly.

"Did you somehow learn about the agreement, Giuseppe made with my mother?" she asked again.

Alice's breath grew a little quicker and she fiddled with her fingers on the table.

"Please, tell me. I know you're not a bad person. If you tell me, you be able protected, but if you don't. I might be in more danger, and you're going to be in jail even longer." Bonnie sighed, reaching across the table and touching the womans hands even though it made her a little woozy.

Alice inhaled, and all in one second looked at Bonnie with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yes, I know about the agreement, about things Giuseppe has done." she admitted quickly, "I've known for years."

Bonnie nodded, just trying to listen, and ignore the wetness that wanted to pool in her own eyes.

"It was never a problem, he let me keep my job, he never did anything to hurt me. He just wanted me to keep it a secret. But then all the sudden he was setting up yours and Damon's marriage." Alice explained, "He told me he wanted me to get rid of you."

Bonnie swallowed, her heart beating harder in her chest, "And he threatened you, if you refused?"

"Yes." Alice said, a few tears dripping along her face, "You don't know Giuseppe like I do. I've known him for years. If he even thought I was going to betray him... I was afraid he would get rid of me too."

Feeling a bit dizzy, but also relieved that she knew what was going on, Bonnie exhaled slowly and pushed the pen and notepad over to Alice.

"Please, write down what you know, what you told me." she told her.

Alice nodded, grabbing the things and started to write.

Bonnie stood up and walked out of the door, closing it behind her.

As soon as she was in the hallway, she exhaled heavily, feeling a bit dizzy and Liz rounded the corner and walked over to her.

"Thank you. We have enough to bring Giuseppe in, probably keep in in a cell. But, there's no way he won't be able to pay bail." Liz sighed.

Bonnie nodded, but didn't say anything and instead turned around and continued down the hallway. She just wanted to get out of there, she felt like the walls were slowly closing in on her. Damon felt much the same, in fact. He had down several classes of water in an attempt to sate the burning anxiety ridden thirst that was craving a large class of alcohol.

"Damon." Bonnie said in a breathy tone, as she walked into the main room and Damon turned around to see her.

He quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her upwards where she was standing on her tip toes. Bonnie tossed her arms around his neck and hugged him back tightly, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked, nestling his chin in the crook of her neck.

Bonnie sighed, "No."

Damon let her go, just so she could tell him what had happened, but kept a hand on her arm when they slid down off of him.

"Damon, Giuseppe threatened Alice, asked her to kill me." she said slowly, and watched her husbands face go from worried, to angry.

Damon inhaled, and backed away from Bonnie completely, taking several steps backwards.

"What?" he asked, wishing he'd heard that wrong. It wasn't as if he wasn't expecting it, but to know that it was the truth? It was painful, to say the very least.

Bonnie didn't answer, she didn't want to say those words again so she just took a step forward and tried to touch his arm.

"That fucking..." Damon inhaled and exhaled, mumbling a few more swears incoherently.

"Damon, it's okay. He won't go unpunished." Bonnie assured him, even though she felt afraid herself, she knew Damon would fall off the wagon if she didn't support him.

Damon raked his fingers through his hair, "Let's just go before I break something." he said in a huff and turned around, walking ahead of her out of the station.

Bonnie grabbed her coat, and purse before following behind him. Abby who had been watching the scene, quickly jogged to watch up once they were out of the building and heading through the parking lot.

"Bonnie." she called, moving beside her, but Bonnie just ignored her, trying to walk faster.

"Please, talk to me." Abby pleaded.

Bonnie sighed and stopped in her tracks, turning to face her mother.

"Look, I'm glad you told us, Liz, what happened. But that doesn't mean everything is good with us." she said furrowing her brow.

Abby frowned, "I'm just trying to talk to you, I've missed you."

Bonnie swore under her breath, "You can't just expect me to welcome you with opened arms, Abby."

Her mother sighed, hating that she couldn't even be called mother anymore apparently.

"Listen, I know, what I did was wrong. But, I'm back now, Bonnie." she insisted.

She hadn't just come back to check on Bonnie, she didn't plan on leaving any time soon.  
"I thought I would never see you again. You don't understand, where would we even begin?" Bonnie asked, and Damon had stopped, turned around and was watching from several yards away with his hands in his pockets as he tried to calm his heart.

"Right here, we can begin right here, talking." Abby said, and this just upset Bonnie even further.

"You can't just come back now." she started, "I spent so long putting the past to rest."

"I know how badly I hurt you b-" her mother was cut off.

"No, no!" Bonnie said raising her voice, "No! We can't begin, there is no beginning or starting over. There's only the choice you made to leave your husband, and daughter behind."

She turned on her heel and started away from Abby, her heart racing, face warm and eyes moist.

"Oh, and you made a agreement, with the worst man you could have ever made a deal with, didn't tell anyone, and I almost _died_." Bonnie added, turning around just long enough to spit the words like venom and then pushed passed Damon rather than stopping in front of him.

Abby watched her daughter walk away at a loss for words.

Damon turned around and started after Bonnie.

"Bon." he said, reaching out and touching her shoulder.

She brushed him off, "No, I don't want to talk." she insisted.

"I know you're upset..." Damon sighed, but she didn't head for the car, and instead continued further through the lot, so he followed her.

"Bonnie, please!" he called after her.

Bonnie turned around, tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm confused, Damon! I'm angry!" she yelled, startling him and putting her hands on her head.

"Part of me wants to hug her, and never let her go; but, there's also this crazy part of me that wants to shove her in front of a car."

Damon's eyes went side and he stepped closer to her.

"It's okay." he said slowly, but when he put his hands on her shoulders she yanked away from him.

"Don't touch me!" Bonnie inhaled sharply, and looked at him with tear filled eyes.

Damon apparently didn't understand what she was saying because when her ters trickled down her cheeks, he tried to put an arm around her.

"Stop!" she looked at with him a wild look in wet eyes.

Damon backed away from her and watched her turn around and hurry out of the parking lot and down the side walk.

"Bonnie!" he called, "Where are you going?!"

She didn't answer, and he growled, admittedly angry and turned around to see that Abby had left.  
He kicked at the ground in one angry motion, and huffed.

Bonnie just kept walking, tears running down her face and her purse jiggling at her side.

It was cold, and snow started to fall twenty minutes later. It wasn't until she had been walking for forty minutes that she finally stopped. Fishing in her purse, she opened one of the zippered pockets and pulled an old key from it. Stepping over to the building she'd stopped at, she stared at the fogged glass door with a sigh that was mostly faded.

Bonnie shoved the key into the lock, turned it and with a click the door was unlocked. She put the key back in her purse and opened the door, walking inside. The door closed behind her, and the large, wooden floored space, was flooded with dim sunlight from the windows along the side and back walls.

Bonnie sighed and set her purse down on the floor, and walked over to the light switches on one wall. She turned them on and the lights flickered for several moments, but quickly maintained, illuminating the space more.

Two walls of the room were mirrors, and bars lined every wall, corner to corner.

This was very clearly a dance studio. However, it wasn't any dance studio, it had been Abby's.

The bars, and mirrors, even floors were a bit dusty, and out of shape. But, Bonnie could still remember the few times she'd been there.

She walked around, sliding her fingers along the bars, collecting years worth of dust on her finger tips, and memories flooded her mind.

Bonnie had watched her mother there, teaching people how to dance. She had been so young that she thought her mother was the best dancer in the world, and that everyone came to her so they could be as good. She knew now that there was no best dancer in the world, and dance was far more complicated than the beautiful costumes, swan like movements...

Bonnie brushed the dust off on her leggings and turned around, leaning against one of the bars.

When Abby had ran off, Rudy and Bonnie had just never stopped paying for the studio, and never sold it... The truth was, Bonnie would go there every once and a while when she was at a low point. It had been at least eight months she was there, but every time she went it felt exactly the same.

However, this time was different.

Abby was back in her life, maybe not really, but she was back in Mystic Falls after all these years.  
So, now this place felt like it was far to empty, far too old. It was still comforting somehow, but now Bonnie couldn't miss her mother. Abby was there, right in town, ready to talk to Bonnie, face Bonnie.

But, Bonnie couldn't handle it, not right now...

There was a small noise as the door to the studio opened and she looked over to see Caroline walking in, the door closing behind her.

"Care." Bonnie said slowly.

Caroline gave her a smug smile and pulled the gloves off of her hands as she made it over to her.

"Damon called me, said you'd walked off..." she started, "I knew you'd be here."

Bonnie sighed, "I should be annoyed, but honestly, I'm glad you're here."

Caroline leaned against the bar beside her, "Your mother came back?"

"Yup, straight out of thin air, to tell me she made a deal with Giuseppe, and it's pretty much the reason he wants me dead." she explained.

Her best friends eyes widened, "Jesus, you learned all that just this morning?"

"That's not even half of it." Bonnie sighed, and slid downwards to sit on the bottom on the floor.

Caroline moved down, and sat beside her.

"I'm sorry." she spoke quietly, and put an arm around Bonnie's shoulders.

"It's okay, I just need time to think, to breath. I feel like I've been living a life that isn't mine lately." Bonnie admitted, furrowing her brow.

Care looked at her, pursing her lips, "Things aren't going well with Damon?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No, that's not what I mean. Actually, Damon is the one thing out of this new life that I don't feel is out of place." she chuckled, "In fact, we're doing good, I think."

"Explain." she said smiling at her best friend.

"He's nice, sexy, funny, caring, protective." she explained, "Damon in general, is a good thing. I just think maybe my whole heart isn't in it."

Caroline nodded, "I understand. I mean, after all it hasn't even been that long. You two are just at the beginning."

Bonnie sighed, "Yeah I think it's just everything terrible happening. It's making me wonder if I should have not married him."

"But, you care about him, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. I care about him a lot." she replied.

"That's such a cliché, doesn't happen type of thing Bonnie." Caroline started, "If I'm being honest, I think you would have met him, and ended up with him some other way."

Bonnie sighed, "But we didn't meet randomly, our marriage was arranged, planned, calculated by Giuseppe who wants me dead."

"You're wrong. The night you met at the club, months before the wedding, before you even knew each other, that was random, that wasn't planned." she insisted.

"Yeah.. You're right." she nodded, and leaned her head against Caroline for a second.

Bonnie grabbed her phone from her purse and stood up. She turned on some music, and set the phone face down on the bar.

Stepping over, several feet away and she kicked her boots off.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked with a chuckle.

"Dancing." Bonnie replied, and spun a few times, and moved her hips.

Her friend eyed her, "Are you supposed to be taking it easy?"

Bonnie sighed, and spun again before stepping closer to Caroline.

"I don't care, I just want to dance, even a little. I miss dancing, and I miss when everything wasn't so complicated.

"Alright, alright." Caroline smiled.

Bonnie extended a hand, "Dance with me?"

The blond grabbed her hand and stood from the floor. The two of them danced for a bit, finally having fun for the first time in forever. Bonnie was a little sore still, so after a while she had to sit down, but this was okay. Caroline laughed and sat down beside her, running her fingers through her hair.

They had both tossed their coats off and were a little bit warm.

"I don't miss Whitmore." Bonnie admitted, "But I don't want to lose my passion for ballet entirely, I like dancing."

Caroline nodded, listening.

"I'm trained in ballet, and ballroom. It's part of my life, it always has been." she added, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead.

Caroline pursed her lips, knowing she should probably tell Bonnie what happened with Stefan. It was weighing on her mind, and honestly she wasn't unhappy about it. The kiss was nice, though short. It was the first time she'd kissed anyone in months, she missed Matt more than anything. But the more he distanced himself, the less she missed him, the more she started to think she definitely needed to break up with him.

"I kissed Stefan." she blurted out.

Bonnie's eyes widened.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"Technically, he kissed me, but I totally kissed him back." Caroline explained.

"Wow, I mean I knew you guys obviously had something between you but I wasn't sure you'd act on it." Bonnie said slowly.

Caroline sighed, "I stopped it though..."

"Well, yeah, I would hope so. You're still with Matt. Not that I don't think you should be with Stefan." she replied.

"I love Matt, but I don't think I'm in love with him anymore." she frowned.

"And you don't want to start anything with Stefan until you and Matt are over, and you're stable. I get it." Bonnie chuckled.

"Ugh, you get me." Caroline leaned against her.

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah, I know.." she paused, "Oh, since you told me about Stefan I should probably tell you about Damon."

Caroline blinked and moved back away to look at her, "Did you guys..."

"No! Well.. Kind of." she blushed, "Hand stuff, I suppose you could call it." she chuckled nervously.

"Ohh, you guys did hand stuff." she wiggled her brow.

Bonnie blushed harder and brushed her hair behind her shoulder, "Technically, just he did."

"Oh you?" Caroline asked.

"Of course." she shoved her gently.

"Damn, he really is a good guy." she smirked.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and exhaled, her lips vibrating.

She reached up to the bar and grabbed her phone, the music was off but she had a missed call from Damon, no voice mail though.

"I should probably let Damon know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth." she sighed, and ran her fingers along his contact.

Bonnie pressed message, and slowly typed.  
 _  
_ _ **Bonnie:**_ _I'm okay_

She stared the screen until his reply popped up.

 _ **Damon:**_ _I was worried, you just walked off on me..._

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _I know... Can you meet Caroline and I at the Midnight Cafe?_

Caroline leaned over, looking over her shoulder.

"Tell him not to bring Stefan." she said quickly and Bonnie shot her a amused smirk.

 _ **Damon:**_ _Okay_

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _Don't bring Stefan, don't ask why I'll explain later._

Bonnie put her phone back in her purse and pulled herself up off the ground, helping Caroline up as well.

"Thanks for coming here." she said, as she put her boots and coat back on.

Caroline shook her head, "No, you don't have to thank me. I'm always here for you."

Smiling, Bonnie watched her friend get her coat back on, before grabbing her purse and pulling the key out of it. She then walked over, flipped the lights off and headed across the room, with Caroline following closely behind her.

"Did you drive, or take a cab?" she asked as they stood outside, and she locked the studio up.

"Unfortunately, I took a cab, but the cafe isn't that far away, just ten minutes by foot." Caroline replied as Bonnie put the key back in her purse.

"Then we better get going, the snow is coming down harder." Bonnie chuckled and turned around, walking down the sidewalk.

Caroline walked beside her and they both shoved their hands in their coat pockets.

A little over ten minutes later and they had made it to the cafe. Bonnie assumed Damon was already inside so they just went in themselves. They cafe had just opened, so there wasn't too many people there, and beverage machines were being finished set up.

Bonnie and Caroline walked, as she eyed the space until her eyes met Damon sitting the booth that they had been sitting in the last time. Unfortunately, sitting across from him was Stefan, and Enzo.

"Oh no, seriously?" Caroline sighed and was about to turn around and walk away until Bonnie grabbed her by the crook of her elbow.

Bonnie practically dragged her friend over to the booth.

"Hey." she said and as Damon looked at her she gave him a minor glare.

"Sorry, I told him he couldn't come." he replied with an apologetic look.

Stefan smiled as his eyes flickered over to Caroline who quickly avoided meeting his glance.

"I hope you don't mind I tagged along." Enzo said slowly, "Damon just now told me everything that happened."

Bonnie let go of Caroline and moved to sit beside Damon.

Caroline scooted beside Enzo on the outside of the booth, just glad that Stefan hadn't sat on the outside.

"Oh, no, it's fine." she assured him, and Damon wrapped an arm behind her back.

"So, your mother..." Stefan started but his brother shot him a 'shut up' look.

Bonnie looked between them, "He can ask about it, it's okay."

Damon loosened the tension in his shoulders and tried to relax, watching as Stefan drank from his cup of coffee.

"It's been years since I saw her, and she just abandoned me. So, I feel conflicted about her showing back up all of the sudden." she explained, and Damon slid the coffee he'd bought for her over to her.

"Thanks." she smiled a small smile and cupped her hands around the coffee.

Enzo shifted in his seat, "Do you plan on talking to her more, or are you just going to leave her be?"

Bonnie pursed her lips, "I don't know, honestly. I doubt my father knows that she's back, so I need to tell him."

Caroline frowned as Stefan had slid the coffee he bought for her over, and she didn't touch it.

"It's messed up, about Giuseppe though." the blond mentioned, resting her chin in her palm.

Damon's jaw tightened, just thinking about it, and Bonnie felt his arm tense up behind her.

"Let's not talk about him right now." she suggested, and Caroline gave her a apologetic look.

Bonnie took a drink of her hazelnut flavored coffee and was pleasantly surprised that Damon had remembered what creamer she liked.

"Do you have any other family besides your father and mother?" Enzo asked curiously.

Bonnie nodded, "I had my Grams, she died a few years ago though. I have a few cousins, but the only one I really talk to is Lucy, and her mother Joanna."

Damon looked over at her, "I didn't know that." he chuckled, trying to ease the anxiety creeping in on him from the whole days ordeal.

"You never asked." she rolled her eyes and rested the side of her head against him.

Stefan clicked his tongue once and then looked to the side of the table, and over at Caroline.

"How are you?" he asked her.

Caroline just looked at him with a blank expression.

"Fine." she told him, and lifted the coffee, taking a drink from it.

She was surprised to find it was peppermint. Which, is what she told him was her favorite at the hospital while they were watching over Bonnie.

"Thanks for the.. coffee." she said, feeling bad for having not been at least a little civil towards him. He wasn't doing anything wrong, just buying her coffee.

Stefan smiled, "Anytime."

Damon eyed them, feeling like something was going on, but he was a little foggy after all from the news he'd learned. He shifted his eyes over to Bonnie.

"I'll tell you later." she mouthed and he nodded, with curiosity in his blue eyes.

Once they had all drank most of their coffee, and spent about an hour talking, ordering tickets to the next DNCE concert, Enzo included, Bonnie decided she wanted to leave.

"Hey, can we leave now?" she asked Damon who nodded, and grabbed their coffee's to toss in the trash.

"Leaving?" Caroline asked, not so sure if she wanted to be left along with Stefan and Enzo.

Bonnie nodded, "I'll talk to you tomorrow." she assured her, and Damon took her hand after throwing the cups away.

"I'll be home later." Stefan told them.

Damon walked with her out of the cafe and down the sidewalk, his car was parked several blocks down.

"You alright?" Bonnie asked him, looking over.

Damon sighed, "About the same as you probably."

She frowned, "I know this is all screwed up, I don't understand how your father could just do something so terrible."

He nodded, "I'm not that surprised. I am pissed off, however." he looked away and at the store windows they passed.

Bonnie squeezed his hand, "Don't let him ruin what you've worked hard on."

She wasn't doing to fabulous herself, she was surprised she was still holding together, but the huff of an argument with her mother had drawn out some of the anger she was holding.

Once they got to the car, Bonnie leaned up against the passenger side and Damon sighed, turning to face her.

"I wish I knew the right things to say." he shook his head, looking downwards at her.

"What makes you think you don't?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Damon shrugged, and stepped a bit closer.

"I hate that all of this is happening." he exhaled.

Bonnie didn't say anything, just looked at him, knowing that she felt the same way, and repeating what he had said wasn't of any use.

Damon touched the side of her cool, soft, face and ran his fingers from her temple to her jawline.

"I won't let anything else happen to you." he whispered, looking at her like if he looked away, she'd disappear.

"I trust you." she replied softly, and reached upwards wrapping her arms around him.

Damon wrapped his arms around her as well, hugging her, lifting her upwards on her tip toes and pressing her face against the side of hers.

"I love you." he said with his lips near her ear, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest, goosebumps rising on her arms, and neck.

Bonnie's face flushed with warmth, "I love you too." she whispered back, feeling his heart beating just as hard as hers as they were pressed together.

"I was waiting for the 'right' moment, but, screw that." Damon said gruffly, not letting her go.

She laughed, filled with new endorphins and tightened her hold on him. She might have been doubting her new life earlier, but even with that doubt, she knew she loved him. Bonnie knew this now.

Damon pulled his head back and looked at her face, before leaning in and pressing his lips against hers softly. She kissed him back, and rubbed her nose against his when it broke.

"I promise that I'll make up for all this drama." he assured her, letting go of her, letting her feet back on the ground.

Bonnie smiled a bit, "You just looked at me, helps."

Damon bit at his lower lip and then smirked crookedly.

"You're a smooth talker." he teased her.

"You know you like it." she leaned forward, pressing her face against his chest, closing her eyes.

Damon brushed some of her hair behind her ear and smiled.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." Bonnie apologized, nuzzling his coat.

"It's alright." he chuckled.

"You want to come to an AA meeting with me tomorrow?" Damon asked, remembering it.

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked upwards at him.

"Yeah, of course." she replied, and he leaned down, placing a kiss on her hair.

* * *

Please _ **Leave A Review**_!


	22. Secrets That Pile Up

**A/N:** Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 21** \- Secrets That Pile Up_

The next day, Bonnie was sitting passenger side in the Camaro, right beside Damon. They were sitting parked, in the lot in front of the community building the AA meeting was scheduled to take place in. They had about five minutes until they needed to get in here, and it was easy for her to see that Damon was nervous. It wasn't a huge surprise to her, after all, he'd never actually tried to get help for his alcoholism at the extent that he was now.

So, she reached over and touched his hand that was gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Damon was lost in thought, and hardly noticed that Bonnie was touching him. Inside his head, was a flurry of worries. What if meeting with a group didn't help, what if paparazzi had followed them? What kind of rumors were going to be spread? And, most of all, he was thinking about how Bonnie didn't deserve to have to deal with his problems.

"Babe." Bonnie said slowly, watching his face and feeling like he was slowly digging a pit to throw himself in.

"Damon." she repeated, turning in her seat more.

Damon inhaled sharply and came out of his own head, blinking, he looked over at Bonnie.

His grip on the steering wheel loosened, and after a second he let his hand fall to his lap.

"Are you alright?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

He sighed, "Not really."

Bonnie gave him a look of understanding, and unbuckled her seat belt, before brushing her hair behind her shoulder.

"It'll be fine, I'll sitting right next to you." she reminded him, and he nodded, taking a deep breath.

He wasn't usually afraid of things, but since marrying Bonnie he was realizing a lot of his life, he'd just been shoving his fears deeper backwards. Now that he was facing them, more and more anxiety was creeping along into his life.

Bonnie could see he wasn't getting much comfort, and she didn't blame him. She turned in her seat, and moved over top of the stick shift in between them, and placed herself on his lap. Scooting forward, she leaned down and laid her head on his shoulder.

Damon instantly wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face against her hair. Bonnie seemed to know what he needed even when he didn't, even when it was the most random thing, no matter where they were.

In the parking lot of an AA meeting? Too bad, she was gonna cuddle him.

"It's okay." Bonnie whispered, closing her eyes.

Damon breathed against her hair, before moved his head upwards, and her head, then leaning his forehead against hers.

"You are too good to me." he told her, and her lips turned up at the edges.

"Do you not think you deserve that?" she asked curiously.

He licked at his lips, "Maybe I don't."

Bonnie frowned, "Well, I hope to change that."

Damon tilted his head to the side, his heart not beating so frantically anymore, and pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back and then smiled.

"We should get inside." she mentioned, turning her head and seeing a few people who just got there walking in.

He nodded and reached over, opening the car door and she wiggled off his lap and out of the car.

Damon made sure his keys were in his pocket before getting out as well and shutting the door. Bonnie reached over to thread her fingers with his before they headed through the parking lot and up the stairs into the building. They followed a few signs down the hallway until they made it to the correct room, and the door was propped open. About thirteen people, maybe more, were scattered around the room. Some were already sitting in the chairs in a circle, others were standing at the coffee machine, others at the snack table, some standing all by themselves. The energy in the room was a little jittery, but it wasn't too tense.

Bonnie didn't let go of his hand through, and led Damon over to the snack table with her, because the site of whatever cookies they had going on was making her hungry.

"How long do you think this will last?" he asked her, watching as she picked up several sugar cookies and placed them in a napkin on the table before picking them up.

She looked up at him, "An hour, but really you can leave whenever you want."

Damon nodded, and let go of her hand so she could eat. Bonnie shoved one whole cookie into her mouth without a thought, and he refrained from teasing her. Her emerald eyes flickered over to him, her mouth puffed out like a squirrel.

His lips tugged at the corners, and she tapped his arm in a silent 'shut up'.

Bonnie swallowed what was in her mouth and held a cookie up to his face. He bit it and she smiled, finishing it.

Bonnie could feel eyes on them, she wasn't sure whose but, the chances that someone in the room knew who they were wasn't as slim as they'd like to believe. Ever since their marriage, they had been trying to avoid thinking about how much the public eye was on then, but the truth was, they were the front cover of at least two magazines and inside every one, was something about them even if it was a tactless rumor. Online, you could find details of their life, some real, some made up. It was annoying, hence why they were trying to pretending it wasn't happening.

Finally they were called over to sit in the circle and Damon sat down, with Bonnie in the chair next to him. She scooted it closer so she could hold his hand. Damon noticed he wasn't the only person whose partner had come with them, so that was comforting. He didn't like feeling like he was the odd one out.

"I see a few new faces, so for those of you who don't know, my name is Tina." the woman sitting at one point of the circle with her hands folded on her lap explained.

"Would any of you new faces like to start off the conversation? There's no specific topic, anything that's on our mind, your story..." Tina questioned, and no one spoke up or offered, including Damon.

He was holding Bonnie hand a little tighter and she looked over at him.

"Alright, well the floor is open for anything then." she mentioned.

Someone about three seats over started to talk, and while it was hard for Damon to concentrate, he did his best. The woman reminded the group of how she'd been an alcoholic for ten years, and how she has been sober for six months. She mentioned her ex husband, who was apparently the fuel for her addiction, and she was given soft claps of congratulations when she admitted that she almost fell back under when she had to go to his house to pick up their daughter.

Bonnie listened too, since it was interesting to hear the reasons why people became alcoholics, and why they never got help, or why they did but relapsed. Damon's face was mostly blank but, he was trying to soak in everything. He wasn't used to sharing his problems, or people sharing their problems.

Thirty minutes in and he was feeling a little more conformable, but he still wasn't sure what to say, if anything.

"Anyone else?" Tina asked, after one of the new comers spoke, and she looked at Damon, as if to urge him to say something.

"Uh." he said slowly, and cleared his throat, "I'm not really sure how long I've been an alcoholic, I've been drinking for 4 years, but only about two months ago did I realize it was a problem, and then a few weeks ago it was..." he stopped, trying to gather his thoughts, "..a problem that I realized I needed help with."

Tina nodded, everything else just listening, eyes on him.

"This is my wife." Damon said slowly, and their eyes flickered over to her.

"She's honestly the reason I'm here. Without her, I'd probably be at the bottom of several tall bottles." he admitted, and turned his head to look at her, "She's more of a support system than I could have asked for."

Bonnie smiled a small smile, and caressed his hand with her thumb.

"Well, you are welcome here." Tina told them, "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Damon pursed his lips, "Not right now no."

She nodded, and the group moved on to someone else.

Bonnie looked over at him, feeling proud, and glad that he had brought her along. She hadn't been quiet as aware to how much of a support system she was. Honestly, it was a little scary, being someones rock, but in all truth, Damon was her support as well.

As other people spoke, and the group made it's closing, she tried to pay attention to them, but she couldn't take her eyes off Damon. Every once and a while, he'd glance over at her, and give her a small smile, but he was mostly paying attention to the conversation. Bonnie was glad; he needed to be a part of something positive.

"Alright, I hope to see all of you again next week." Tina said as the meeting ended and people stood up, some leaving and some staying behind for a few more minutes to chat.

Damon let go of Bonnie's hand and stood up from his chair. He exhaled, and raked his fingers through his hair.

"You ready to leave?" she asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." he nodded and followed her out of the door and down the hallway.

Bonnie looked over at him, and pursed her lips.

"That was a nice meeting." she commented, and they made there way out of the building.

Damon shoved his hands in his jean pockets as they made there way through the parking lot.

"It was, a lot easier than I expected." he agreed.

Once they got to the car, Bonnie didn't move to the passenger side, but stood in front of him.

"What is it?" Damon asked, looking down at her.

"I..." she started, but then shook her head, like she didn't want to say what she'd been thinking.

He tilted his head to the side a little, his blue eyes boring into her face.

"No, tell me." he insisted.

Bonnie exhaled, "I...I wish I wasn't the only good thing in your life."

"What do you mean?" Damon inquired, furrowing his brow.

She looked down at the pavement for a moment, wishing her invasive thoughts would just stay away, but she couldn't help it.

"You said I'm the reason you're doing better, and every turn, there is always someone who proves that they aren't here for you, not like I am. When you tell me stories of your life before our marriage, it's bleak, and toxic. Now, you say your life is better, happier, because of me." Bonnie said slowly.

"It is because of you. I'm happy because of you, that's not a bad thing." Damon told her, pulling his hands from his pockets.

She sighed, "But, I.. I'm scared, of being the only good thing, or one of the only good things in your life, Damon. Because, I'm not perfect, and I have my own drama, my own flaws. So, being the focal point of your happiness, it scares the shit out of me."

He exhaled slowly, and when she turned her head to look away, Damon put both of his hands on her face, and turned it back towards him.

"You make me happy, you've changed my life; you're not the only thing, only person that's here for me, but, you're my constant. I know it's early in, that we're here because of an agreement, but Bonnie, you're my wife. If you want me to love you less, if that's what you're implying..." Damon went on, but was cut off quickly.

"No, no, of course not, that's not what I mean. I'm just, worried that I won't be enough support. I'm just one person." Bonnie told him, nervousness and doubt flooding her vision.

Damon looked into her green eyes, his face grew softer, less confused.

"Baby..." he whispered, "You might be just one person, but, you're _one hell of a person_ ; and I want to be here for you, just as much as you are for me. You are enough."

Her lips turned up at the edges a bit, feeling his fingers against her cheeks.

"You are a fiery little vixen of a woman with all the determination, and love that I could want. Your flaws, are not flaws to me." Damon assured her, his thumbs running along her skin.

"So, I'm not stubborn, or selfish then?" Bonnie asked with a chuckle, reaching up to place a hand over his.

Damon pursed his lips for a second, "You're stubborn." he smiled, and she rolled her eyes.

"But, you're my stubborn _bella moglie,_ Bon-Bon." he said quietly.

Bonnie smiled, "I have no idea what that means, but, thank you."

Damon smirked crookedly, and leaned downwards, she stood upwards on her tiptoes, and tossed her arms around his neck. He kissed her softly at first, then deepened it a bit, and she returned his kiss with a gentle caress at the back of his neck.

Bonnie tightened her arms around his neck her shoes just barely touching the ground. She kissed him back, tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth and he made a soft noise of approval.

"We probably shouldn't make out in the parking lot." she said after second, whispering against his lips.

Damon groaned lowly, "No, we shouldn't Where would you suggest?"

Bonnie chuckled, sighed, and pulled away from him, settling back down on her feet.

"Unfortunately, we have work to do." she reminded him, brushing her hair behind her ear.

He blinked, and then moved a hand up to run over his face.

"Yeah, we have to find some solid proof on my father." Damon commented, his hand dropping back downwards.

"We should probably go, because who knows where he's going to go first once he realizes the police are looking for him." Bonnie said with a worried look on her face.

Damon nodded, and for a brief second from the corner of his eye he saw someone taking photo's of them; he sighed.

"What?" she asked, and turned her head in the direction he was looking.

She rolled her eyes, "Paparazzi. I almost forgot they existed."

He shook his head, and reached downwards, pulling her up into his arms, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him.

"Guess we'll have to give them a cover shot." he teased, and planted a kiss on her lips.

* * *

At home, Stefan was there sitting in the living room, still in his pajamas which wasn't a surprise. Bonnie would have been in her pajamas too if she hadn't, had to leave earlier that morning.

It was a little two in the afternoon as Bonnie and Damon sat up in Giuseppe's office, looking for proof of a contract or anything. They'd been up there for about an hour, and as Bonnie sat in his desk chair, she felt like she remembered something, but it was just stinging in the back of her memory.

"My father has a lot of sketchy paperwork, but I'm not seeing anything on an agreement with Abby." Damon spoke from his place on the floor, shuffling through files.

"I feel like there should be something more in this drawer, also why was it unlocked?" Bonnie mumbled, looking into the empty drawer that they had gotten the files out of.

Damon pursed his lips, "Yeah, I was wondering that too, he wouldn't keep a drawer full of private information unlocked."

She eyed the desk, running her fingers along it.

"What if I found something, in the drawer, that's why I was pushed? Alice never really told me what happened before I was pushed." Bonnie mentioned.

Damon set the file in his hands down and raked his fingers through his hair.

"That would make sense." he sighed, not liking to think about Bonnie getting hurt.

She stood up from the chair and looked around.

"He would have had plenty of time to come here while I was in the hospital, take the information, hide it somewhere else, and keep the drawer unlocked to make it seem like he wasn't here." she noted, and Damon gathered the files in his arms.

Standing up, he stepped over and shoved them back in the drawer, and closed it.

"I'm going to be honest, there's a lot of hidden cubbies in this house." he sighed.

Bonnie licked her lips, "Maybe we should take Stefan up on that offer to help us then."

He nodded, and pushed Giuseppe's desk chair back in place. Both of them walked out of the office, and down the spiral stair case.

"Stef!" Damon called, and his brother came dragging his tired feet into the foyer.

"Yeah?" Stefan asked, scratching at his head.

"We could use your help, looking around the house for some proof on the plans Giuseppe made with my mother." Bonnie told him, folding her arms over her chest.

The young man blinked and nodded, "Oh, yeah of course." he seemed to perk up a bit and remove his hand from his head.

Stefan was disturbed by the fact that his father would try to have Bonnie killed, so, he wanted to do anything possible to get him locked away for it. Neither of the brothers had ever liked their father, not even as toddlers. Giuseppe was a string that they couldn't cut, but with him in prison, they would be free of him in all ways but blood and attention of the media.

"Alright, so you take upstairs, while Bonnie and I look down stairs." Damon told him.

Stefan nodded and headed up the stairs, but turned around before they could walk away.

"Want me to check your room too?" he asked.

Damon shook his head, "No, he'd be stupid to put anything in there."

Stefan turned around and continued up the stairs.

Bonnie and Damon wandered around the house, going through the rooms, and she watched as he pulled open cubbies that looked like they were part of the walls, and pulled up floor boards that she hadn't thought about until that moment.

"What if he burnt them, rather than putting them somewhere else?" she asked, worried as they made their way down the hallway to the library after checking all the other rooms.

"Let's hope he didn't." he replied opening the doors to the library.

A light sunlight poured into the room from the slivers in the curtains over the windows. Bonnie hadn't been in there in a while, the room would have been more beautiful if the circumstances weren't what they were.

Bonnie eyed the room, and started to look around, moving books on the book shelves she could reach.

Damon pulled up a floor board, coming up empty, all that was in it was collecting dust.

Stefan walked in a few moments later, empty handed as well, with a exhausted look on his face.

"We've been looking for forty minutes, and have nothing." he sighed.

She frowned and put the few books in her arms back, looking on the walls for any tabs, or anything that looked like a hidden cubby.

Damon stood from the floor, and wiped sweat from his brow.

"It has to be somewhere, my father likes to keep everything, he's secretive but he likes keeping track of it." he mentioned.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "He can't be so smart, that the three of us can't figure out where he hid the information."

Stefan nodded, stepping over towards the middle of the room, and sat down on the loveseat to take a rest.

Damon scrubbed a hand over his face, and walked over to Bonnie, placing a hand on her waist, and leaning in to rest his thin on top of her head. She wrapped an arm around the front of herself to touch his hand and sighed.

"Even if we don't find physical copies of the information, Giuseppe still has a low chance of getting out of any of this." she assured him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"He's good at getting out of things, Bon, I'm just worried." he replied quietly.

Bonnie nodded, understanding and pulled away from him, to look around the room more.  
Her legs were feeling better, and most of all her bruises were faded. She still needed to go to physical therapy another time or two, but hopefully she'd be able to get back into dancing.

It was going to take weeks to get back to the same strength and balance of ballet. Her feet certainly felt better after the break away from her pointe shoes though.

Damon walked over to sit down next to Stefan and take a breath. He'd be lying if he wasn't itching to dig into a bottle of bourbon, but he was doing his best to ignore that vice of his.

Bonnie ran her fingers over some of the books, a lot of them were covered in a thin layer of dust, untouched for God knows how long. But, as Bonnie continued, further away, towards the small section in the corner where the chair she had once written in her journal sat, she noticed some of the books were cleaner. They look used more, pulled out a little more frequently, and the dust that was on them, was disturbed by streaks.

She pulled about four books out, and set them down on the chair, eying the space. She tried to look back at the backboard of the bookcase. It was a little hard to see, because of the darkness further back, so Bonnie reached into the bookcase, standing on her tiptoes as she got further back.

"What is it?" Damon asked, noticing her reaching into the bookcase.

Bonnie felt around with the tips of her fingers along the wood and felt a small little divet that curved upwards.

"I don't know, but it's something." she said slowly and settled back down on her feet, pulling her arm out.

Damon stood up, Stefan following behind him.

He stepped over beside Bonnie and she stepped out of the way. Reaching into the bookcase, he felt the notch in the boarding, and hooked his finger underneath it.

"I think it's a panel." he mumbled, and pulled on outwards on it.

Sure enough, the small wooden panel opened and swung to the side. But, when his fingers reached further expecting a chubby, instead there was a handle.

"It's a handle, I think." Damon said, and Bonnie looked at him confused.

Damon grabbed onto the thick, horizontal metal handle with three of his fingers and pulled, there was small groaning wooden sound.

Bonnie and Stefan both stepped back, a little startled.

Damon continued pulling, until a six foot tall, 4 foot wide section of the wall bookcase, pulled outwards a few inches.

Bonnie's eyes were wide, and he stepped back from the apparent secret door.

"Holy shit, it's..." she mumbled, unable to finish her sentence.

Stefan moved over to the bookcase, and slipped two of his hands into the inch space and shoved the section of the bookcase open like a very heavy door, until they were staring straight into a dark, cold, passageway.

"Um, so neither of you knew this was here?" she asked them, her shoulders tensing up.

"No." both of the men replied at the same time.

Bonnie nodded, "Okay, so, maybe we should.. check it out." she said slowly.

Damon and Stefan both just looked at her like, since she was mentioned it, she should go in first.

"I'm not going in first!" she said quickly, stepping further away from the entrance to the hallway.

"Why not?" Stefan asked, looking just as worried as her.

Bonnie looked to the side, and then back at the men.

"All the signs up to this have pointed directly at us being in an actual murder mystery novel; well, I'm sure as hell not Nancy." she told them.

"You're right, I'll go in first." Damon offered, and stepped past both of them, wasting no time to step directly into the passageway.

Bonnie grabbed her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight, shining it down the way. She started in, behind Damon with Stefan lingering beside her. She couldn't see that far ahead of herself even with the flashlight and suddenly when she blinked Damon disappeared from in front of them.

"Damon?" she asked, and her voice echoed, giving her goosebumps.

There wasn't an answer, so Stefan moved ahead of her.

"I'll look for him." he told her, and hurried forward.

Bonnie turned around to look back down the passage way towards the light of the library, nervous.

When she looked forward again, there was a turn up ahead, but Stefan had disappeared.

"Guys?" she called out, with no answer.

"This is starting to get a little...weird.." Bonnie spoke the first part loud and then whispered the last word.

She rounded the corner and walked about seven feet before she crashed into something and screamed.

Bonnie gasped and jumped backwards, flickering the flashlight in front of her, and exhaled when she saw it was Damon and Stefan, with amused grins on their faces.

"Seriously..." she whispered, "Screw you!" she huffed at them and hit Damon in the chest with her phone.

"Come on, that was funny." Stefan chuckled.

"No, it really wasn't." Bonnie glared at them and looked to the right, seeing a set of light switches and pushing them all up at once.

Dim white lights glowed on and illuminated the passageway, so she shut her flashlight on her phone off.

As they continued down the hall, Damon walked beside her, and gave her an apologetic look.

They finally made it to a another door, which Bonnie thought was weird, to have a door, in a room, with another door, in the room.

Honestly, it was confusing.

"It's locked." Stefan noted, and Bonnie pursed her lips.

She searched in all the pockets of her jeans, knowing she had worn a bobby pin at one point, and with her luck, lost it in her pocket.

"Ah!" she said quickly, and held the pin up, stepping over to the door.

Damon watched as she carefully picked the lock, with her tongue peaking from in between her lips.

Bonnie got it unlocked and shoved the pin back in her pocket.

"Where did you learn to pick locks?" he asked, curious.

"I'll never tell." she smirked at him proudly.

"Mm." Damon made a growl of a noise, which made her face flush pink.

Stefan looked in between them, "Can you two flirt with each other some other time?"

Bonnie's face got hotter and she cleared her throat.

"Okay, so, let's go in the room." she said quickly, and turned the handle, pushing the door inwards.

This time, she did walk in first, and Damon followed behind her with Stefan.  
She flipped the light switch up and a white florescent light filled the room. They're eyed widened as they looked around the large room, three pale gray walls aside from the one behind them, was covered in wooden shelves, with guns, bullet cases, hanging knives and duffel bags.

"What the hell?" Stefan mumbled, stepping over to the large dark wooden table, several chairs placed around it.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself, slightly frightened now, and noticed a row of books along one of the lower shelves.

"What is all this?" she asked, looking towards Damon, whose face was equally as confused and worried.

"I have no idea." he replied, stepping around the room.

Stefan moved around the room as well, eying all the weapons, and there were even first aid kits, food kits.

"Maybe it's a panic shelter, or something." Damon said slowly.

Bonnie felt unnerved and she grabbed one of the books, realizing quickly that it was a journal.

She flipped it open, glancing at the pages, not reading all of the content at once.

 _'monsters' 'apocalypse' 'be prepared' 'weapons'_

Those were several words that were repeated, often as she flipped through the pages quickly.

Bonnie swallowed hard, "Your father is paranoid."

Damon stepped over to her.

"What does it say?" he asked her.

"Something about, monsters, that we all need to be prepared to kill them." she said, shaking her head.

She quickly shoved the book back where she'd gotten it.

"We need to see if the information we need is in here, and then get out; because, this is..." Bonnie exhaled shakily as she tried to avoid looking at the weapons.

"Yeah, this is creepy." Stefan agreed and started to search in any open spots.

Damon stepped over to the bookcase, behind Bonnie, and searched in between each journal.  
When he got to the bottom shelve, there was a small inch tall slot in the wood. He reached in and out pulled a pile folder.

"I think I found something." he said and moved over to the table, lying the folder onto it.

Bonnie grabbed the filer folder and flipped it open and picked up the first thing she saw.  
A flurry of memories rushed back into her head, like they had never been forgotten.

"This, this is what I saw before I was pushed down the stairs." she said quickly, staring at the paper.

Stefan and Damon both stepped over to look.

A three hundred thousand dollar check stub made out to your mother thirteen years ago." Damon whispered.

"It's true then, he did pay her." Stefan spoke.

"There's more, this I didn't see when I found it." Bonnie said setting the copy down and looking at the s small stack of papers it was underneath.

Damon pulled out of the chairs out, and moved the folder and papers over in front of himself.  
There were three papers, old, a little crinkly and stapled together.

He scanned the front page.

"I think this is the contract between Giuseppe and Abby." he said and Bonnie moved over to look at it.

"Yeah." Damon mumbled, and turned the page, running his fingers along the words, "See, it says here, 'Abby Bennett s daughter Bonnie Bennett, will be given half ownership of Salvatore Ballet on her twenty first birthday.'"

Bonnie's heart was beating a little hard in her chest, whether it was because of the proof they had found, or the creepy, apocalypse room, she was unsure.

"Why would he have you marry me?" she asks, hoping there will be an answer somewhere.

Damon shook his head, not seeing anything, but after he turned the page, he flipped back, blinking, and flipping forward again.

"Okay, wait..." he mumbled, and Stefan's eyes were on the paper too.

"This isn't just the contract from Abby and his agreement." he said, and pushed a finger nail into the last page, revealing two pages stuck together and pulled them apart.

"It's Rudy's contract too." Stefan realized as he looked at the new pages.

Damon sighed, "Giuseppe didn't just marry us because he wanted to prevent you from becoming partial owner." he spoke, reading over one of the pages, "He hid something in the agreement Rudy made with him, for our marriage."

Bonnie blinked, grabbing a chair and sitting beside him, Stefan scooted over as well, hands on the table.

She grabbed the papers, and read through them herself.

"Marry you, would mean I lose the right to become owner, and if we ever divorced, I'd leave with nothing!" Bonnie said, startled, and looked up at Damon.

"And, I'd be a bout a million dollars richer." he said, his eyes glued to the paper.

Bonnie grabbed the papers quickly and shoved them back in the file.

"We have the information, we have solid proof." she said, standing up.

Damon stood up as well.

"Let's get out of here." Stefan said and they all looked at each other in agreement.

"We shouldn't tell anyone about this room." Damon mentioned, feeling uncomfortable with it in the first place.

Bonnie nodded, "Maybe you're right, we have what we need. This room is just..."

" _Doesn't exist._ " Stefan said slowly, and they all gave each other another silent look.

Damon placed a hand on Bonnie's lower back and they walked out of the room together, turning off the light and shutting the door.

"I can't believe this." Bonnie whispered as they headed down the hall, turning off the lights when they got to the switch.

Damon took her free hand that wasn't holding the files, and lead her down the hallway through the darkness.

"We should call Sheriff Forbes." Stefan mentioned as they rounded the next corner and finally made it to the opening of the passageway, thankful that no one had walked in the room and closed the door on them.

The three of them stepped into the library and closed the bookcase, putting the panel and books back right where they had been.

Bonnie's eyes adjusted to the daylight and she inhaled deeply.

"Ugh, this is all so weird." she murmured.

Stefan shoved his hands in his pockets, "Tell me about it."

Damon sighed and squeezed Bonnie's hand.

"Don't worry about it, we have what we need, everything will be fine." he assured her.

She nodded and they all headed out of the library.

As they were walking, they could hear a commotion going on in the foyer and started walking faster.

"I need... to talk to Damon." Lily's voice came from the foyer, it was panicked and shaky.

Damon let go of Bonnie's hands and rushed out ahead of them.

When he got into the foyer, Wayne was standing near the door he'd just closed. Damon's eyes flickered over to his other who had smeared blood all over her chin, nose, and one of her cheeks.

"Lily?" he asked, confused, as Stefan and Bonnie finally made it out into the room.

The woman had tears dripping from her eyes still, and she inhaled sharply.

"Giuseppe... he.. found out about the police looking for him." Lily said stepping over and Damon noticed the bruises on her wrists, and his eyes flickered back up to her blood covered face.

"Oh my god, mother." Damon exhaled, and stepped over to her, all her past mistakes seemed to be absent from his hand in this moment and reached a hand out to touch her face but she flinched away.

"Lily." Bonnie said slowly, walking over to her, and giving Damon the file folder.

"Did Giuseppe do this?" she asked, and Lily nodded, taking another breath.

"I was staying at a hotel, a little bit from here, because he was supposed to come back to virginia soon." she explained, wiping at her cheeks.

Stefan just stood, at a loss from words as he looked as his injured mother.

"He freaked out, and..." Lily couldn't say the words, but they all know what had happened from the look of her, "then he ran out."

Bonnie frowned, "Damon, call Liz." she told him, and Damon stepped back, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Do you want to come with me, get cleaned up?" she asked, but Lily shook her head, with her arms wrapped around herself, not moving from her place.

Bonnie didn't really like Lily, but, then woman had just been beaten by her husband and was covered in blood; not to offer her help would be cruel.

Damon swallowed hard, trying to avoid looking at his mother as the phone rang into his ear.

"Sheriff Forbes, this is Damon Salvatore." he spoke.

"Oh, Damon, is everything okay?" Liz asked him.

He sighed, "No, not exactly." he started, "We found some proof on what Abby was saying, as well as my mother just showed up, bleeding. Apparently Giuseppe is back in Virginia, he freaked out, and hurt her."

"Oh, no. That's for telling me, I'll come over right away with another officer to talk to her and you." Liz said and Damon hung up the phone.

"Alright, the Police are coming." Damon said and Stefan took a step forward, closer to Lily.

"I'm sorry he hurt you." Stefan said slowly.

Lily's eyes moved over to him.

"It's not anything new." she replied sadly, and looked away from everyone.

Wayne was standing quiet, unsure of what to say.

"I should leave you, this is a private matter." he said to everyone.

"You don't have to leave, Mr. Wayne." Bonnie assured him, but he turned and walked out of the room anyway.

Suddenly, the front door swung open, startling all of them a few inches back from their places.

Giuseppe came rushing into the door and closed it behind him. His face was calm but his eyes were angry, it was like looking at a living paradox.

"Giuseppe, what are you doing here?" Stefan asked, stepping forward and keeping him fro going anywhere near Lily.

"What the hell do you think?" the man asked, and his eyed flickered over to Bonnie.

Damon instantly stepped in front of her protectively.

"We know what you've done, we know everything." Bonnie said from behind her husband.

Giuseppe clenched his jaw, "Out of pure luck, is the only reason."

They didn't understand why he'd come there, but it was obvious that he knew the police were coming.

Damon stepped forward, holding the file folder in his left hand.

"Someone will be here to arraign you soon, so don't even thinking about running off." he said, looking dead into his fathers face.

"Where would I do?" the man asked, trying to play tough but the look in his eyes was now one of fear.

"Your bail will be set, probably very high." he continued.

"However, don't think for a single second, that anyone in this room would bail you out." Stefan said from in front of Lily.

It was true; Lily, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, even Enzo could afford to bail Giuseppe out. But, the graying cold eyed man knew none of them would.

"That's alright, I have my own money, and I have friends." Giuseppe said, shoving his hands into his suit pockets.

Lily was standing ten feet away, wearing her winter jacket like it was protecting her; her eyes avoiding Giuseppe at all costs.

If the mans under the desk by out of a company wasn't enough to land him in jail, trying to get Bonnie killed, and the last twenty fire years of abuse Lily had to endure certainly would be. At least the recent incident left proof of his cruelty.

"You do realize, you're not going to get out of this, even if you try?" Bonnie asked him, and this seemed to pick up a little aggravation from him.

Giuseppe stepped over, and Damon blocked his path.

"Get, out of my way." he said to his son.

Damon clenched his jaw, and remained till.

"I'm not, going to do anything for you." he said in a low tone.

A grin spread across Giuseppe's face, "You married the little bitch, of your wife, because I said so."

"You sleep with her, at night beca-" he went to continue but Damon had dropped the file folder to the ground and swung one fist up to meet his fathers face before anyone could blink.

Giuseppe stumbled back a step, and then propelled himself forward, shoving Damon backwards into Bonnie. She stumbled backwards and slammed into the doorway leading to the living room.

Liz and another officer came through the front door just as Damon was going to shove his father backwards.

"Hey! Break it up!" Liz said quickly and pulled a pair of handcuffs out.

Giuseppe wiped at his bloodied nose, and was pulled backwards by the other officer, and handcuffed by Liz.

"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of Bonnie Bennett and the abuse of Lily Salvatore, anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law." Liz said and the other officer dragged him out of the door and into the driveway to go in a squad car.

"Bonnie." Damon said, realizing she had been pushed backwards.

She was standing up now, but looked a little shaken up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, putting a hand on her cheek.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, just, wasn't expecting that."

Liz walked outside to check on Giuseppe and the officer, and then walked back inside, over to Lily.

"Lily, if you could come with me in the other squad car, we need to question you." she asked her.

Damon picked the file folder up off the floor and sighed.

"Okay, but..." Lily started, and looked towards her two sons and daughter in law.

"Will you three come?" she asked.

Bonnie and Damon looked at each other for a second.

"Yeah, of course." Damon replied.

"Yes." Stefan agreed.

* * *

A bit later, Damon had offered to drive Lily there with them instead, and on the way had called Enzo to let him know what was going on.

Lily was taken in to be questioned, while Stefan, Damon and Bonnie sat around a desk, drinking coffee.

"This is messed up." Stefan sighed, shoving his empty cup away from himself.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, I just hope that the trial goes by quickly, some trials go by for months."

Damon ran his fingers through his hair, "I think his will be quick, especially with all the evidence against him, I can't think of a single thing that would prove him not guilty."

She looked over at him, scooting her chair closer, and resting her head on his shoulder.

"This will all be over soon." he whispered and turned his head to kiss her hair.

"Hey, I got here as soon as possible." Enzo's voice said from behind them.

Bonnie turned her head just as he was moving over, and sat in a chair beside her.

"You didn't have to come." she said, but he shook his head.

"No, I did. Damon's my best friend, and you're both my friends too. I'm here for support." Enzo insisted.

Bonnie's lips turned up at the edges, and Damon was glad his friend was there, but the looks exchanged between him and his wife, made him a little uncomfortable. Though, he knew he needed to just trust both of them.

"How long has Lily been in there?" he asked

"Almost an hour." Stefan replied, resting his elbows on the desk.

Enzo exhaled, "Seems like we are in the police station, way to often."

"What do you mean we? This is your first time." Damon asked him with a slight chuckle.

"Well, whose fault is it for not inviting me?" he asked.

Bonnie smirked, "You act like it's a party."

Enzo shrugged, and gave her a cocky little smile that made her cheeks grow warm.

Damon pulled Bonnie closer to him, and tried to take her attention away from Enzo by touching her cheek with his fingers.

Bonnie looked over at him, and tilted her head to the side. He was about to say something when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket at a text message. He pulled his phone out.

 _ **Lexi:**_ _Hey, you never returned my call, I wanted see how you're doing?_

Bonnie's eyes flickered downwards and she read the text at the same time, but didn't say anything. Damon had been honest, and she trusted him when he said she was someone he knew from rehab, who had went to the same school.

Damon typed back slowly.  
 _  
_ _ **Damon:**_ _I apologize, dealing with a lot. It might be a while, but I'll get back to you._

He put the phone back in his pocket.

"You didn't have to say that." Bonnie said slowly.

"Yeah, I did. I'm here to support my family, that's what is my priority right now." Damon insisted and leaned over, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Lily and Liz walked out together a few moments later. Lily's face was cleaned up, and she looked a lot better.

"Giuseppe is in a holding cell." the Sheriff explained, "His preliminary hearing will be in two days, and based on the evidence I can say he'll probably have a trail, which shouldn't be very long after."

"What if he makes bail?" Bonnie asked, standing up.

"He'll only be out for two days if that's the case, once his official trail is appointed, he'll most likely be denied bail. Though, he seems hesitant to make bail." Liz replied.

"Damon, can you take me back to the house?" Lily asked him, just as his phone started ringing.

He held up a hand and stepped away to answer his phone.

Bonnie looked over at him for a second before looking back at the group.

"You'll be safe at the house." Bonnie assured Lily, who gave her a small smile.

Damon walked back over to them.

"Apparently, I need to fill in at a meeting for Giuseppe, I tried to get out of it, but..." he sighed, shaking his head.

"I can go for you." Stefan suggested.

"No, no, I've been away from the company for a while, I need to do my job." Damon refused, "But, you should come with me, in place of father."

His brother nodded, "Alright, of course."

"I can take the women back to the house." Enzo offered.

"Thank you." Damon said, grabbing his coat off the table, and pulling it on, then stepped over and tapped Enzo on the shoulder.

Bonnie moved over to him, and set her hands on his chest.

"I'll be home late, the meetings a few hours away." he told her, and she nodded, with a sad but understanding look on her face.

"I'm sorry." Damon furrowed his brow, "I know you need me right now." he put a hand on hers.

Bonnie tilted her head to the side, "It's okay. You have a job to do, we knew that you'd have to get back to work eventually."

He nodded, and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers, lingering there for as long as he could allow himself.

"I love you." Bonnie said softly once the kiss broke.

"I love you too." Damon replied, and his eyes flickered over to Enzo, who quickly pretended like he hadn't been listening in with a pained look on his face.

Bonnie pulled away from Damon, and Stefan quickly took the opportunity to give her a hug too.

"Oh." she chuckled, hugging him back.

"Thank you, Stefan." she smiled and gave him one more squeeze before letting the two men walk out of the station.

Bonnie sighed, and pulled on her coat slowly.

"Alright, you two ready?" Enzo asked them, and when they nodded, lead them out of the building as well.

Outside was a cool breeze, but the sun was still lightly shining, melting some of the snow.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked Lily as she walked beside her.

Lily licked at her lips, "I... will be, I guess."

It was weird, seeing Lily more fragile, soft looking, rather than the nose up, for lack of a better word, woman that she had been to Bonnie.

"Well, I know we haven't really gotten along, but I am here to talk." she insisted.

Lily nodded, "I wanted to see you when you were at the hospital. I'm glad you're okay."

Bonnie smiled a little, "I'm glad you're okay. Maybe we can, start over."

Lily nodded a little in agreement and they got to Enzo's car.

Thinking about starting over with Lily, made Bonnie automatically think of Abby. If she could start over with a woman who wasn't her mother, why couldn't she with her actual mother?

She sighed, riding in the passenger side next to Enzo, not wanting to think about it anymore.

Finally, after a quiet car ride, they made it back to the Salvatore house, and Enzo parked the car.

They all piled out and went into the house, Bonnie wasn't sure why Enzo had gone in with them, but she wasn't against it. She was a little nervous herself after what had happened to Lily.

"I'm going to go upstairs." Lily said slowly, taking off her shoes and Wayne queitly took her coat and Bonnie's from them.

"Thank you Wayne." Bonnie said, and he nodded, hanging them up.

Lily walked slowly up the stairs and Bonnie turned to look at Enzo for a second.

"I should maybe go talk to her." she said with a sigh, and when she looked back at the stairs, Lily had disappeared at the top.

"Maybe." Enzo nodded, looking at the woman before him, wishing he didn't still have the urge to hold her.

Bonnie turned around and headed up the stairs, and through the hall, to the bedroom Lily was in, with the door open. She stood, leaning against the door frame and looked in.

"Can I come in?" she asked, and Lily looked up from her seat on the bed.

"I guess." the woman replied, having took her hair down from the ponytail it was previously in.

Bonnie walked into the room, and sat down on the bed next to her.

"I'm sorry about what happened today." she said slowly.

Lily folded her arms over her chest.

"You shouldn't be. I mean, I've never treated you very nicely." she sighed.

Bonnie frowned, "No, but, that doesn't mean you deserve to be abused."

The woman ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, I've just been, going through it for a long time." she replied.

Bonnie nodded, "Well, I want to be here for you, despite our disagreements; but, I can't be, if you won't be here for me, if you won't be here for your son, both of your sons."

Lily was quiet for a moment, "I'll do my best, I am sorry." she said, looking over at her.

"I forgive you." she said slowly, "Don't make me regret it."

Bonnie stood up from the bed, and bid Lily goodnight before making her way back downstairs.  
Enzo wasn't in the foyer anymore, but when she walked into the living room he was seated on the couch.

"You're still here." she said softly, and walked over, sitting beside him in the quiet, dimly lit room.

"Yeah, I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." Enzo chuckled, his dark hair a little messy.

Bonnie smiled, "Well, I'm not oppose to you staying."

"Really?" he asked her.

"No, of course not. You were there for me when Damon was in the clinic, and you've been there for Damon for years. I'm glad you're here." she told him, and settled back further on the couch.

Enzo looked over at her, "I'm here to support you, I'll always be here."

Bonnie's face flushed with warmth and she tried to ignore it.  
She didn't queit understand why Enzo was being so nice to her, but she was starting to get a feeling that it was a little more than friendly. She didn't want to jump in and assume anything though.

"Thank you." she smiled again, and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Everything that's happened to you is horrible. I can't believe Giuseppe." he sighed, eying the woman.

She nodded, "Hopefully, it'll all be over soon."

"Believe me, if I could have saved you some how from his wrath, I would have." Enzo said seriously, never taking his eyes off her.

"You're such an amazing woman, you don't deserve to be hurt that way." he added.

His words caused another flood into her cheeks, and her heart twisted in her chest.

She tried to stop it, but it was difficult. Enzo was handsome, and kind. Bonnie inhaled slowly.

She loved Damon, she knew that. But, why then was Enzo making her blush like this?

"T-thank you." she repeated, feeling flustered and Enzo moved over, wrapping his arms around her in one swift, thoughtless movement.

He'd promised himself he wouldn't ruin his best friends marriage, but, he needed to hug her, even just once.

Bonnie was a little shocked, but this didn't stop her from almost melting right into his arms, despite her internal guilt, and hug him back.

"You're welcome, always." Enzo told her, and pulled away from her before he ended up doing something he'd really regret.

Bonnie cleared her throat, and scooted back away from him, her head a little dizzy.

"You're a great friend." she said, and for half a second, she thought she saw his face fall for a split of a second.

"You are too." Enzo replied, regaining his composure and stood up from the couch.

Bonnie sat down further on the couch again.

"I'll see you later?" he asked her.

"Yeah, of course." she smiled, and watched him walk out of the room.

The second he walked out of the front door, Bonnie's head cleared.

"He's just, cute, and I'm just stressed, that's all." she mumbled, trying to explain her blushing around Enzo.

Grabbing her phone from her pocket, and remembered she wanted to call Caroline, even though she'd already found out from her mother probably.

Sighing, she clicked Caroline's contact and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Bonnie! I was just about to call you." the blonde answered after just two rings.

"Hey, Care." she replied, pulling her feet up onto the couch.

"I heard what happened from my mom, are you alright?" Caroline questioned in a worried tone.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "I'm okayish, just a little tired, and hoping this all ends soon."

"Me too, I can come over if you want?" she told her.

"No, it's alright, I'm just going to watch TV and wait for Damon to come home, he went to a meeting." she waved the offer off.

Caroline paused on the other end, "Alright, well, I'm here if you need me."

Bonnie looked at her phone, seeing she was getting a call from her father.

"My dads calling, can I call you back later?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure." Caroline replied before Bonnie switch lines.

"Hey, daddy." Bonnie answered, scratching at her head.

"Hi, sweetheart, I got a call from Liz, she told me what's going on with Giuseppe..." Rudy replied, clearly unhappy.

Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek, "I'm okay though, I promise, and I don't really want to talk about that right now." she started, "I'm just happy to hear from you."

Her father sighed, "I'm just worried, you're my only daughter, I don't know what I'd do if something else happened to you."

"Nothing will happen to me, dad." she frowned, "Can we please, not talk about Giuseppe?"

"Alright..." Rudy agreed, "I miss you."

"I miss you too." Bonnie replied, wondering if she should tell him about Abby.

"There... is something I should tell you though." she added.

Rudy paused, "What is it?"

Bonnie held her breath for a second, looking around the room. Honestly, she wished Damon was there with her. But, at the same time, there were things you could only talk to about with your parent. At least, that's how it was for Bonnie.

"Abby.. mom, she showed up yesterday." she told him.

Rudy didn't seem all that surprised when he said, "Oh."

"Did you know?" she asked him.

"Liz mentioned her." he said truthfully.

Bonnie frowned, "I don't know what to do, dad. She just, showed up, and expects me to be comfortable."

"I know... I can't tell you what to do, but she's your mother; I know she still loves you." Rudy started, and Bonnie just tilted her head looking at the floor.

"If you feel comfortable, or even the least bit forgiving, I think talking to her would be the best for you." he finished.

She inhaled, moving her other hand to touch her face.

"I don't think I'm ready, or that I'll ever be.

* * *

 _ **bella moglie -** beautiful wife _

* * *

Please _ **leave a review**_! It would mean a lot!


	23. All is Kind of Well

**A/N:** Hope you like this chapter!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 22** \- All is Kind of Well_

When Damon pulled into the driveway of the large house he'd been accustomed to for the last 25 years of his life, Stefan wasn't in the passenger seat as when they'd drove to the meeting. He shifted the gear into park, and turned the car off, then proceeded to rake his fingers through his dark hair.

Damon got out of the car, locked it and shoved his keys into his pocket, then headed into the house.

The foyer, hallway leading to the library and staircase were dark, but the fireplace in the living room was casting a dull glow past the door frame.

He slipped his wingtips off before walking slowing into the living room.

Bonnie was seated on the couch, clad in the red pajamas Damon had bought for her at the hotel during their honeymoon. Her attention was focused almost completely on the book in her hands, but as he stepped closer, she looked to the left at him.

"I didn't hear you come in." she said quietly, looking a bit sleepy, with her curly hair up in a messy bun.

"I tried to be quiet, it's a little late." Damon said back, and loosened the tie around his neck that he'd picked up at a store along the way to the meeting.

Bonnie folded the page of her book in, and leaned forward, setting it on the coffee table.

The clock on the wall read 10:35pm.

"That was a long meeting, huh?" she asked, and stood up.

He sighed, "Apparently, more of the company rests on me than I realized. Plus, with my father's imminent prison sentence, some of our mergers are bound to end their contracts."

Bonnie furrowed her brow, and padded lightly over to the tall, tired looking man. She rested her hands on his chest, tapping her small fingers against him.

"You got this." she assured him, "I'm just glad you're home."

Damon exhaled, and attempted to let some of the tension off his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm home." he chuckle lowly and placed his hands along her waist.

Bonnie slid her hands upwards and removed his tie for him, then touched the buttons of his shirt one by one.

"I called my dad." she told him.

"Did you tell him about Abby, and Giuseppe?" he inquired, caressing her with his thumbs.

"I did.. We were, on the phone about an hour actually." Bonnie explained, and ran her hands back upwards so she could wrap her arms around her neck.

"How did it go?" Damon asked, pulling her a little closer.

She pursed her lips, but remained silent.

"You're probably right, we should leave that conversation for later." he said.

"I didn't say anything." she blinked.

"You didn't have to." he chuckled.

Bonnie smiled up at him, and leaned upwards onto her toes.

"Is my mother alright?" Damon questioned, their faces a mere half inch from being pressed together.

"She's asleep, Wayne made her camomile tea, I took it to her around nine." she replied softly.

His lips turned up at the edges.

"My beautiful, loving wife. Taking care of her family, no matter how crazy they may be."

Bonnie smiled back at him, " _Our_ family, and, always."

Damon leaned in, illuminating the space between them and pressed his lips to hers.

Bonnie kissed him back, and then a realization hit her as she moved one of her hands along the side of his face.

"Hey, you shaved." she mused, remembering that he'd still been maintaining the minor beard when he'd left earlier that day.

"Yeah, about the same time I got the tie." he chuckled.

Bonnie pressed her lips against his again, and moved her arm back around his neck. Damon held her tighter, and deepened the kiss. Once again the kiss was broken when another thought disrupted her head.

"Wait, where's Stefan?" she asked, a bit confused.

Damon moved a hand up from her waist and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"He decided to stay at a hotel for the night." he explained, and Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"But.. you decided to drive two hours back home?" she questioned.

He nodded, "Yeah."

She smiled and lowered off her toes, leaning forward and pressing her head against his chest, hugging him tightly.

"You're crazy." Bonnie mumbled, and Damon squeezed her back.

"For you, yes." he said, and she closed her eyes, feeling his heart beat in his chest against her ear.

Damon ran his hands along her back.

"It's nice to know you still like the pajamas I bought you." he said softly.

Bonnie tilted her head back, and looked up at him.

"Honestly, I put them on because I missed you." she flushed a light shade of pink, which made Damon smirk.

"Why don't I get changed, and we can sit by the fireplace for a bit?" he asked her, and she smiled wide.

"Like.. a second official date?" Bonnie asked him.

Damon pursed his lips, "If you consider it a date, then so do I."

Bonnie laughed quietly "Go get changed."

He nodded and leaned down, giving her a hard, squishy kiss on the lips before letting her go and heading out of the living room.

She smiled as she watched him walk away. She'd been feeling kind of lonely in the living room all by herself, and though she was sleepy, she really wanted to spend time with Damon. The last few days had been way too much drama for her.

Once Damon was upstairs she walked through the dim light to the kitchen and slipped on the light over the stove just so she had enough light to see.

Bonnie grabbed to wine glasses, but rather than grab the wine, she pulled a bottle of red grape juice out and filled the glasses up half way.

Tossing the empty bottle in the trash, she made a mental note to get more eventually.

When she turned off the light, grabbed the glasses and walked back into the living room, Damon was sitting on a thick plaid blanket he'd laid in front of the brick fireplace.

Damon turned his head to see her, eying the wine glasses.

"Don't worry." Bonnie told him, "Since, you are recovering, I decided me drinking in front of you wouldn't be a good idea. So, it's juice."

He smiled a small smile, and she stepped over, handing him the glasses so she could sit down.

"Are you going to pick Stefan up tomorrow?" Bonnie asked, as she grabbed her glass from him.

Damon shook his head, "No, he'll call for a car."

She nodded and took a sip of her juice, holding the glass as though it wasn't juice, and her lips were stained purple.

He smiled at her, setting his glass down on the floor a few feet away.

"Let's.. talk about something, anything besides the ridiculous soap opera our lives have turned into." Bonnie suggested and scooted closer to him.

Damon chuckled, "I think that's a bit much.." he commented, "Someone would have to die, for this to be a soap opera."

She nodded, "True, and you'd have to have a long lost brother, who ran away to be free of his criminal ways." she teased him.

"Ugh, well I sure hope that doesn't happen." Damon said with a sigh, "I already have a brother who gets on my nerves."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and he grinned at her, reaching over to pull her into his lap.

She exhaled, a bit startled, but quickly settled close to him, setting her glass on the stone platform of the fireplace.

Damon was wearing blue silk pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt, the fire giving his dark hair and fair complexion a nice glow. But it was nothing in comparison to the way she looked to him in the firelight.

"What would you like to talk about?" he asked her, but wasted no time, leaning down and kissed the skin of her neck.

Bonnie hummed a bit, in appreciation.

"Hmm. I don't know." she mumbled.

She leaned her head back, looking up at him, her back pressed against his chest.

"You know, we haven't taken a photo for instagram together." Bonnie mentioned.

Damon chuckled, this was quiet a random topic. But, he knew it was true. They'd posted about each other a few times, he'd even taken a photo of her and posted it. But, most of their posts on social media were preplanned.

He pulled his cellphone out, and clicked into the instagram app.

"I did change my name though...A while ago." she mused, tilting her head forward and watching his screen as the app loaded.

"I know, I married you, and you gave me your instagram handle the second we got back into the reception." Damon reminded her with a amused chuckle.

"BonnieSalvatore," she whispered, and he clicked the camera open.

"Music to my ears." he said huskily against the back of her hair and their dimly lit but clear faces showed up on the front facing camera.

Bonnie smiled, and closed her eyes as he took the photo.

The photo loaded on the next page where they could chose filters, but he just clicked onto the text and tagging.

"What are you going to put?" she asked curiously.

Damon smirked as he typed.

damonsalvatore: Fireside date, with my love. bonniesalvatore

"How's that?" he asked her, and her face flushed a bit.

"It's good." she said in a quiet happy voice.

He chuckled and posted it, clicking the screen off, and tossing the phone to the side. Putting his attention back to wrapping both his arms around her and pressing his whole face into the fullest part of her curly bun.

Bonnie laughed, "What are you doing?"

He mumbled something incoherently, and nuzzled her bun so aggressively that the band holding it together snapped, and hit him in the face.

"Akk!" he gasped, blinking rapidly and pulling his face away as her hair fell around her head.

Bonnie shook with more laughter.

"Don't laugh at me!" Damon said, tightening his arms around her, and she continued laughing.

Damon grumbled jokingly and brushed Bonnie's hair to one of her shoulders, before leaning down and resting his chin against the other.

"You're really lovey tonight." Bonnie mentioned, closing her eyes and placing her hands over his that were resting on her stomach.

"I spent three hours with people talking at me, the only thing I wanted to do was come home to you, believe me." he said quietly, the fire warm against both of them.

Bonnie smiled, "You're so adorable!"

Damon laughed and turned his head a little more, and bit her on the neck playfully. She squealed, almost a bit too loud and tried to wiggle away from his hold. He growled and kept biting her, but when she started to laugh, he couldn't help but laugh as well, leaving a damp circle of saliva on her neck.

"I'm not adorable." he insisted, and Bonnie pulled way from his hold, but didn't get off his lap, instead she turned around so she was forward facing him.

She placed her arms around his neck, and his went back around her waist.

"I am just glad, you're here." she told him, looking into his blue eyes that had captivated her since the first moment she saw him.

"Not as glad that you're here." Damon chuckled and pulled her tighter against him.

Bonnie smiled, and leaned in, resting her forehead against his and they just sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, I knew that... we aren't supposed to be talking about this.." she said slowly, "...but, I think we should eventually get _the room_ , cleaned out. At least the weird stuff."

Damon blinked, and pursed his lips, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I would just feel more comfortable living here if we did that." Bonnie chuckled nervously.

"I'll take care of it." he assured her, and she raised an eyebrow, pulling her head away from his.

"That didn't sound cryptic at all." she teased.

He smirked and then licked his lips, thinking...

"You know...we could maybe think about, getting an estate of our own." he suggested.

Bonnie's eyes lit up a bit and she scooted further onto his lap.

"Really?" she asked.

Damon nodded, "Of course..." he started, "What kind of house would you like?"

She bit at her bottom lip, pondering, and Damon just looked at her, thinking that the look on her face as she tried to decide, was cute.

"Well, I love this house, it's beautiful. So, something like this house, but that's ours." she smiled, "I mean, Stefan and whoever wants can still stay here; it can still be a family house. But, we'd have our own, that's just ours."

He smiled back at her and reached behind him to grab her ring hand, and move it in between them.

"Definitely...ours.." he said softly and kissed the emerald ring and the gold wedding band behind it.

Bonnie's face flushed.

"Oh, I almost forgot." she said quickly and stood up from his lap so quickly he was a little dizzy.

He chuckled, blinking quickly and watched her hop across the room and sit back down on his lap a few seconds later holding two magazines.

"Found the magazines we're in." Bonnie chuckled and held them out so he could see.

"Oh, we're on the cover of that one." Damon mused, looking at the one that was from around the time they'd gotten married, a photo of both them in their wedding attire on the front.

She smiled, "You probably don't want to read the articles inside, but, the photo's are nice." she slid her finger along the cover.

He shrugged, "Rumors, no sense in paying attention to them unless they go to far."

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right..."

Damon bit the inside of his cheek, "So, they know I was in the clinic?"

She sighed, "Yeah. They're calling it rehab, and have no clue what they're talking about but..."

He rolled his eyes and tossed the magazines to the side.

"Let them talk, I can handle it." he insisted.

Bonnie put her arm back around his neck.

"You know, there's a charity ball, for amFar in a few days. We should go, be out in the public eye." Damon suggested.

She pulled closer to him.

"Just for show? She asked, curious if he was more concerned about keeping the celebrity world buzzing.

He give her a look and ran one of his hands along her lower back.

"No." he told her, "I want the cameras to see how beautiful you are, that's all."

Bonnie smiled at him, and shook her head.

"You're a smoother talker, Damon Salvatore." she narrowed her eyes.

Damon grinned and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers.

"Want some music on?" he asked her, lips close to hers when he pulled back.

Bonnie nodded, and he slowly slid her off his lap and got up to turn on the stereo across the room.

Bonnie leaned back, propped up by her arms and watched him. Damon turned on the stereo to a low, but audible volume and some commercials were playing.

" Don't dance for me!" she joked, and Damon wiggles his eyebrows at her.

"I just might." he smirked at her and turned around walking back over to the stereo.

"What are you doing?" she asked curious, wiggling her toes.

Damon grinned to himself and pressed a few buttons on the stereo, starting a CD that was in, and pressing track 6

The beginning dialogue part of the song started out of the speakers.

 _Step in side, walk this way! You and me babe... Hey! Hey!_

Bonnie's eyes widened as the intro came on and Damon turned around winking at her.

"Ooh my God." she breathed.

 _Demolition woman can I be your man?_

Damon started to dance and one of her hands came up over her mouth, trying to keep from laughing.

 _Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet. Little miss innocent, sugar me. Yeah... Yeah..._

He stepped a little closer and continued dancing, moving his hips a bit, and Bonnie was laughing against her hand.

 _Take the bottle, shake it up. Break the bubble, break it up!_

Bonnie removed her hand from her mouth and inhaled deeply, trying to stop laughing at him, because in all honesty, his dancing was actually pretty attractive, though amusing, yes.

Damon pulled his shirt off quickly, and her face flushed deeply.

"Okay... I retract my previous objection." she whispered with a grin, and eyed his chest and torso.

 _Pour some sugar on me! Ohhh, in the name of love! Pour some sugar on me! Come on, fire me up!_

His dancing quickly took a turn from making her laugh, to making it hard for her to breath, as he raked his fingers through his hair. Bonnie bit at her lip.

 _Pour your sugar on me! I can't get enough... I'm hot, sticky sweet, from my head to my feet yeah._

Damon swiveled his hips, and grinned.

"Get down here, right now." Bonnie chuckled, and Damon winked at her, before stepping over and sinking to his knee's on the blanket.

She sat upwards, and tossed her arms around his neck before he could blink, crashing her lips against his. Damon kissed her back deeply, the guitar riff playing in the background.

His hands moved her her waist, pulling her closed and she pressed up against his bare chest. Bonnie tangled her fingers in the back of his hair, and slid her tongue along his bottom lip. Damon breathed against her when she kiss broke and she ran her free hand along his warm chest.

He brushed her hair out of the way and leaned down to kiss at her neck, biting it, a bit harder than when he had been playing with her, and a small moan came from her lips.

"Damon.." she giggled, "Your mother is upstairs." she whispered.

"Then, be quiet." Damon said huskily against her neck, which only made her thighs hot.

Bonnie leaned her head back a bit, and he slid a free hand down her torso, letting his fingers linger along the top of her pajama bottoms. She tugged on his hair, which invoked a much harder, back arching bite from him into her neck near her shoulder.

"Shit." she breathed, her hips grinded forward once, causing his hand to slid downwards.

"Shh." he his tongue along her neck.

Bonnie removed her hand from his hair and quickly unbuttoned her pajama shirt with shaking fingers; revealing the thin, blue cotton bra underneath it. Damon lifted his head up from her neck and his eyes scanned her chest, her bare stomach which wasn't completely flat, and had a little squishy curve to it, which he thought was cute.

"Taking a step, are we?" he asked, his voice deep, quiet, eyes practically pouring into her soul.

And just like that, he had went from silly, sweet, to the most intense man she'd ever met in her entire life.. Bonnie was one disoriented thought from letting him lick every inch of her body; but, she also knew that she didn't want their first time together to be on the living room floor, while her mother in law slept upstairs.

"No.. not a big step, but.. a step. I guess." she said, her face flushing, she felt kind of bad. She could tell he wanted to do more than just make out.

"Don't give me that look." Damon said, his face growing a bit softer, as he could tell something was up with her.

Bonnie blinked, "What look?"

He placed his fingertips underneath the shoulder of her open shirt, and caressed there.

"The look where you think I'm disappointed. As if I could ever be." Damon chuckled, and tilted his head to the side.

" I just... I know, you probably have never had to wait so long to have sex with someone." she frowned, and he shook his head, brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Bonnie... my wife.." he started, "Please, stop worrying about that. I'm not married to anyone else, I'm married to you, and I will wait however long."

Bonnie smiled, and leaned in to press her lips against his. His kissed her back softly, and she leaned forward more, causing him to all backwards and pull her with him.

The glass of grape juice that he'd set on the floor, was knocked by his head and tipped over spilling on the carpet.

"Crap!" Bonnie laughed, and her face fell into his chest.

Damon put a hand over his face and laughed too.

After a second they both quickly got up from the floor.

"I'll get something to try and clean it up." he said and hurried out of the room.

Bonnie grabbed the glass and set it on the coffee table, while moving the blanket out of the way so it didn't get ruined.

Damon came back in, and turned on the main light to the living room.

"Okay, I got some cloths and club soda." he said with a chuckle and set the things onto the floor near her and was about to sit down when his phone started ringing from the place he'd tossed it too.

He stepped over and grabbed it.

"I need to get this." he said, giving her an apologetic look.

"It's fine, I got this." Bonnie chuckled, and grabbed one of the clothes to blot the liquid quickly.

She worked to get the stain out as Damon was in the foyer talking on the phone. After she'd gotten the most of it out, and leaned back, lying on the floor and looking at the ceiling.

She was kind of tired. Though, she wanted to talk to and kiss Damon a hell of a lot more, so she tried to stay awake by staring at the light, but this just gave her a headache.

Damon was sure to me done on the phone in the few minutes. She was sure..

However, he didn't get off the phone until twenty minutes later. When Damon walked back into the room, phone in his hand, he turned his head to see Bonnie asleep, with her shirt half button up on the floor.

"That was..." he started, but then saw she was sleeping.

He chuckled, and shut the light off, then set his phone on the coffee table. Damon walked over, and knelt down, carefully picking up Bonnie into his arms and she roused a bit.

He walked her over, and laid her on the couch, tossing a blanket over her and watching her nuzzle her face into the pillow on the couch.

"Goodnight." Damon told her, and brushed her hair out of her face face before stepping over and sitting in the empty space left on the couch.

He rubbed at his bare chest for a second, and then leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

At least they'd been able to forget about the drama going on for a little while.

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

Giuseppe had made bail, which wasn't a surprised to anyone. It was slightly disconcerting, but they were fairly certain he wasn't going to waste the few days he had free until the preliminary hearing by getting himself thrown back in jail.

"Well, it's official, we are all over the news already." Stefan said as he held the remote to the TV and stood in the middle o the living room.

Bonnie peaked her head into the room.

"That's not a surprise." she sighed and watched what was going on on the television while Damon was in the kitchen finishing up the grocery list.

"Giuseppe Salvatore's preliminary hearing is today, where a judge will make the decision if there is enough evidence against him to hold a Jury Trial." the female news anchor spoke.

Bonnie pursed her lips and tore her eyes away from the television, and headed back into the kitchen.

"Fox is talking about us." she told Damon who was leaning against the counter with the fridge open.

"Our privacy is going to be a bit invaded until the trial is over." he said slowly, writing on the paper.

Bonnie stepped closer, cleaning against the counter as well, "More than likely, even after."

"It's a good thing, though. People need to know what kind of man he is." Damon reminded her and looked over.

"Even if the company loses some of it's allies?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Yes, even if we lose some allies..." he sighed, "Though, once he's found guilty, he'll be stripped of any and all ownership. I'll be the soul owner of the company. If I can convince our mergers, and clients that I will manage our company better than my father, then, we might be able to salvage some of the loss."

"Well, the least we can do is not let all of this ruin our day." Bonnie told him, and grabbed the grocery list from his hands.

Damon chuckled, and handed her the pen as well, before using his foot to close the fridge.

"Did Rudy tell you who your prosecuting attorney is?" he asked her, folding his arms over his chest.

"My cousin, Lucille." she replied and he raised an eyebrow.

"You have a cousin who's a prosecutor?" he inquired.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah. I didn't even know Lucy was one until my dad told me. Lucy left after she graduated High School, and we lost touch."

"Well, I'm impressed." Damon smirked at her, and reached over to snatched the grocery list back.

"Lucy is at the hearing today, but she's going to try and come to the amFar ball tonight." Bonnie explained, keeping him from taking the pen.

He smirked and tapped the list against her head.

"I need the list to make sure you didn't put anything we don't need on it." she chuckled and grabbed it back from him.

"It's food, do we really not need anything?" Damon asked, raising both eyebrows now.

Bonnie smiled and looked down at the list.

"Really, we need a 5lb bag of chicken wings?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

"Can you think of a valid reason why we don't?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as well and mirroring her face playfully, while staring at her.

She laughed and shook her head.

"Fine! I guess we technically can get whatever we want, I just thought we should try not to buy so much it doesn't fit in the fridge or freezer." Bonnie commented and wrote several more things on the list.

"You were the one who told me the last time, we didn't need a list." Damon reminded her.

She pursed her lips, "Okay well, technically don't. We can still get anything we see, and want to eat..."

"Like the average rich person..." he teased her.

"Of course..." Bonnie gave him an amused look, "..just think of the list as a way to make sure we don't forget the things we know we want already."

Damon looked to the side and then nodded, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Bonnie clicked the pen closed and folded the list, shoving it in the pockets of her jeans, setting the pen on the counter.

"So, our plans for today are..." he started, "Your last physical therapy appointment, grocery store, back home, then we have the hour flight to New York for amFar."

She smiled, "Yup..."

Damon stepped closer and grabbed her chin with his thumb and pointer finger.

"I am so proud of you. You know that?" he asked her.

Bonnie's face flushed with happiness, "I'm proud of you."

He leaned in and kissed her lips once.

"You went from not being able to walk, to walking fast..." he told her, then paused, "faces pass, and I'm home bound."

Bonnie laughed at the song reference, "And I need you."

Damon smirked, "And I miss you."

She shook her head and took a breath, "Okay, we really should get going."

"You first..." he motioned and watched her turn and walk out in front of him.

He followed her out of the kitchen, and they put their coats on before heading outside.

Damon unlocked the car and they both got in. Starting it, he shifted into drive and pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road after getting buckled.

Bonnie was humming as she looked out of the window.

"Making my way downtown, faces pass and I-" she groaned, "Dammit, Damon, now it's stuck in my head!"

He chuckled and took one hand off the wheel, and she sighed, leaning her head back against the seat.

The ride to the appointment was quiet, which was actually nice, especially with all the talking from the news, and being asked questions over and over.

"Is Enzo coming to the ball?" she asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

Damon put the camaro in park and shut it off.

"Yeah, he is." he replied, the licked his lips looking over at her.

Bonnie unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. Damon took a little bit longer to get out, but locked the car and leaned against it.

She turned around to look at him, wondering why he wasn't following her.

"You coming?" she asked.

Damon put his keys in his pocket and took a breath.

"This is..probably a bit of a loaded question..." he started, "..but, is there something between Enzo and you?"

Bonnie blinked, surprised and took a few steps closer to him.

"Of course not." she said to him, "Why would you act that?"

Damon shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground for a moment.

"I just, have been seeing these looks between you too."

She furrowed her brow, "Well, there's nothing going on. I assure you. He's my friend."

He nodded and looked back up at her.

"I feel I should tell you this..." Damon started, "I know, that Enzo has feelings for you."

Bonnie's heart beat hard once in her chest.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Enzo has feelings for you. He admitted to it a while ago. He might not be trying anything, but, I think that you should talk to him about it." he told her, and stepped closer.

She swallowed hard.

It was kind of obvious when she thought about it. The way he smiled at her, the way he'd hugged her, the way he seemed to say things he knew would get to her. Bonnie's mind was mostly focused on Damon, so, all this time she'd been a bit blind to Enzo's affections; even if he was trying not to come off that way.

"Um..." she inhaled, "Yeah, I'll talk to him."

"Okay." Damon exhaled at the same time as her, "Just, want to be clear here, Bonnie..." he stepped even closer, "If you don't, talk to him. I will. I understand him having feelings for you, I understand him having a hard time putting them to the side... But, if he touches you..

Bonnie nodded, "I understand. Damon, you don't need to worry."

Damon licked his lips, "I am worried though, and unlike my past relationships, I will not deal with someone getting in the middle of us." he looked sat her rather seriously.

"I promise you, he won't." she said and placed one of her hands on the front of his jacket.

He took another breath and touched her hand with his.

"That was a little much. I didn't mean to startle you." he sighed, furrowing his brow.

"No, it's okay. You're serious about us. That's a good thing." Bonnie insisted, and then pulled her hand out from under his, but grabbed his hand and they walked through the parking lot together.

The therapy appointment didn't last very long. They did some strength training on a treadmill, some weights and she was told that she could start getting back into ballet, but to ease back in.

They said goodbye to Haley who said Bonnie could call her if she had any problems with her legs in the future.

Just like that, they were headed to the grocery store, the near evening sun shining down, melting some of the fresh snow.

"I know there is a lot going on lately, but have you decided what you want to do in regards to ballet?" Damon asked her as they grabbed a cart in the grocery store.

Bonnie pulled the list out of her pocket and let Damon push the cart this time.

"Not really.. Have you decided if you're going to finish your medical degree?" she asked, and he made a face.

"See, it's not fun to be asked about things you don't want to think about." she chuckled and they walked through the store.

"Damon, Bonnie!" a voice came from the left of them as they stood by the apples.

They both turned to look, and a woman, dressed in leggings a oversized sweaters, with a camera around her neck shuffled over to them.

"I'm with Extrava, can I ask you a few things?" she asked, and snapped a photo of them quickly.

"Uh, sure." Damon replied, stepping closer to Bonnie and placing his hand behind her back.

The woman smiled, and switched her camera over to video.

"Giuseppe's preliminary hearing is today. What all is he being accused of, and do you think he'll make it to a Jury Trial?"

Damon licked his lips, "Neither of us can legally answer the first question at the moment, but yes we do."

"Do you think this trial, might cause a disturbance in your marriage? Are you faltering at all?"

Bonnie chuckled nervously and leaned against Damon a little more.

"Well, it's not easy; but, we will get through this difficult time." she replied.

Damon looked down and smiled at her.

The woman turned the camera off video.

"You can, go on your way now." she told them, but they both knew she was going to follow them, and it wouldn't be a surprise if other paparazzi was there.

Damon and Bonnie walked away and continued shopping.

"What do you think we should do on Christmas?" she asked casually, grabbing a few lemons and putting them in a plastic bag, and into the cart.

"Uh..." he said slowly, hesitating, "I don't know."

Bonnie looked over at him, he looked a little suspicious, she thought.

"What?" she asked, and started forward towards the zucchini.

Damon pushed the cart beside her.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just been a while since I really even spent Christmas with someone. Last Christmas I was in Peru for a ballet with two other critics." he explained.

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "Oh. But, you have celebrated Christmas in the, more traditional way right?" she asked, curious.

He nodded, "The tree, Christmas dinner, presents. Sure, not since I was a kid though. The last year that my entire family was together for the Holiday was when I was fourteen."

She frowned, "That's sad... I get it though. Christmas is usually just my dad and I. Except for a few years where it was Caroline, and I with her mother." she told him.

They turned into the bread isle, and Bonnie check the things she'd gotten off the list.

"So, I know about your Grams, who passed away.. Abby, and now Lucy your cousin. Anyone else in your family that I should know about?" he asked her, pushing the cart slowly.

Bonnie pursed her lips.

"Well, Lucy's mother, my mothers sister, is Joanna. I have an uncle, on my fathers side, Kevin, and he has twins, Darrell and Ella, they're about five. But, Kevin and his family live in Washington, they don't really support the celebrity life." she chuckled and grab a few loafs of bread.

"Hmm." Damon mumbled as they went into another isle.

"What about you?" Bonnie questioned.

Despite the time they'd spent together, family wasn't a huge topic; and, one could easily figure out why. Neither of their families were very well put together.

"My father has a brother, Uncle Zach, he doesn't have any kids though. He's about a decade younger than my father." he told her.

"No one on your mothers side?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Nope. Though, when I was twelve, her and Giuseppe separated, for about a year, and she was with this man named Julian"

Bonnie raised her eyebrows, "Really? They separated, and then got back together?"

"Ehh.." Damon started, "I say separated very lightly... Giuseppe more or less, ignored my mother for a year to be with several other women, and gave her permission to be with Julian."

"That sounds terrible..." she made a face, "Why did they end up 'together' again, and Lily not with Julian?"

He sighed, and grabbed several boxes of pasta.

"My father is a jealous man Especially, when someone is better than him. He did not love my mother, but he could see that if my mother was with Julian any longer, she would leave him... Giuseppe is good at brain washing people." Damon explained, and Bonnie frowned.

"Let's move onto a lighter subject." she suggested and he exhaled with a chuckle.

"Yeah, let's do that... When would you like to look at estates?" he asked.

Bonnie took a breath and tossed several more things into the cart.

"After, all this. Maybe after New Years?"

Damon nodded, "Seems like a good time. New year, new house."

She smiled, and could see a paparazzi taking photo's of them from the corner of her eyes.

"In the spirit of the Holidays, I know you said you don't know what you want for Christmas, but can you think of anything?" she asked as they turned down another isle.

"Honestly, I just want to be with you on Christmas, that's all I need." he replied, and her emerald eyes twinkled.

Bonnie had an idea of what she was going to buy him, but she wanted to be sure he wasn't expecting anything specific.

"I am still going to get you something." she smiled at him.

"I'm getting you something too, don't worry." he teased, "In fact, I was going to buy it today if I could convince you to let me wander off for a moment."

Bonnie shrugged, "Well, then, let's get the rest of the groceries. We can split up, and you can pay for the groceries and my gift, while I get yours and pay. Then we won't ruin the surprise."

"It's a plan." Damon agreed and they continued through the store.

Once they'd gotten the rest of the groceries, Bonnie wandered off, Damon as well with the cart of food.

They got each others gifts, which would _remain secret until Christmas_. (Author looks straight at camera)

After paying, they met at the car, Damon with a cart full of bagged groceries.

"Hey you." Bonnie smiled and helped him put the bags in the trunk.

As she wheeled the cart to a corral, his phone started ringing.

"Who is it?" she asked, as she walked back over, seeing him on the phone.

"Uhuh." Damon said slowly, and motioned a 'hold on' at Bonnie.

"Alright, thank you." he said and hung up, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

"Giuseppe's getting a Jury Trial." he told her, and Bonnie's face lit up.

"That's great!" she said and stepped over to him.

Damon smiled a bit, "Yeah, it's going to be in a few days. His attorney won't have much of a defense, with no witnesses. It's likely he'll agree to a plea bargain, but even with that, he's not going to get out soon. You'll need to talk to Lucy about her side of the case."

Bonnie swallowed, little nervous.

"Well, we better get home, get ready and then on the jet to New York then."

* * *

Several hours later, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Lily and Enzo all had gotten off the Salvatore's private jet, and taken a limo to the charity ball. Flashes from camera's were everywhere, cars pulling up to drop people off, and the group was behind two cars.  
Lily had a good layer of makeup on to cover any of bruises, and was dressed in a floor length, red, long sleeve dress, her hair pinned up at the sides. All three of the men, were dressed in black suits, with white shirts and black ties. Their hair uniformly combed, but Bonnie could see how Damon's hair was fighting against it's direction. A few waves of his hair starting to fall over his forehead.

"You look beautiful." Damon told her as he look over, sliding his hand over her's that was on her lap.

She smiled at him, her curly hair resting beautifully along her shoulders, framing her face.

"Thank you, handsome." Bonnie replied and intertwined their fingers.

Enzo who was sitting across from them, beside Lily, eyed them for a second, but tried to take his attention away from them.

"How have you been, Caroline?" Stefan asked the blond quietly.

Caroline's hair was straightened, hanging much further past her shoulders than usual, and she was wearing a thigh length strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline.

"Alright, glad that Giuseppe's trial is soon." she told him, turning a bit in her seat.

Stefan nodded, "Yes, hopefully we will all be free of him." he smiled a bit, and reached over to brush a lock of her hair from her face.

Caroline's face blushed a bit, and she turned her attention away as the vehicle pulled forward.

"You guys ready?" Damon asked them, and everyone nodded.

The driver got out of the limo, and opened the door.

Damon got out first, and leaned in a bit, holding is hand out to Bonnie. She took it, and the second they were both out of the car, camera's turned towards them. She took a breath; a bit nervous, as she hadn't been to big event in a while. In the past she usually focused on ballet. Rehearsing for a ballet, and preforming the ballet. She didn't have much time in her life for much else.

She realized, as Damon held her hand, and they walked slowly along the red carpet, that her life was more exciting, married to him. She did things she didn't normally do, took the time to actually enjoy her life, everything in it.

"You two look amazing!" someone called at them as they were slightly blinded by the flashes of light.

Caroline and Stefan followed behind them, not holding hands, and Enzo and Lily behind them, walking together, but separately, much he same.

Caroline wasn't famous, she was far from it. Her family had money, sure. But any photo's of her in magazines, where related to Bonnie. Caroline Forbes, was the best friend of the famous Bonnie Salvatore. This what she was famous for.

But, this didn't mind her. After all, she was at a beautiful ball, with the people she cared about. She wasn't going to complain about the reason she'd been able to go.

Damon and Bonnie stopped along one of the amFar background walls to get more still photo's taken.

"Love your dress, Bonnie." one of the photographers said.

She was wearing a floor length blue strapless gown, with a small jewel in the front.

She smiled, and Damon wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I did once say blue suits you." he whispered, leaning over to her ear.

The silver heels she was wearing, made her four inches taller. Damon preferred when she was tiny in comparison to him, but he didn't mind.

Bonnie turned her head to look at him, he leaned over, and kissed her forehead.

"Bonnie Bennett." a voice came from the side of them, and when she turned her head, she saw a similar face. Though, she hadn't seen it in six years.

"Lucy!" she smiled and pulled away from Damon who turned to see what was going on.

The woman smiled, her dark brown hair was pulled up on top of her head, and she was clad in a strappy silver shirt, paired with a bright white midi skirt that complimented her modore toned skin.

"I'm so glad you're here, it's been forever." Bonnie told her, and the two women hugged quickly while camera's flashed.

"The circumstances aren't that good, but I am glad to see you too." Lucy smiled.

Damon stepped closer to the women.

"Oh, this is Damon..." Bonnie started, "My husband."

Lucy's hazel eyes flickered over to him, and down him, and back up to his face.

"Right! You're Mrs. Salvatore now. Rudy told me all about that." she said, and moved over to the side so a photo with all three of them could be taken.

After a moment, they all continued walking so other people could move up, and headed into the building.

The room was huge, with a double stair case on the left and right, leading up to patio.

The floor was marble, in almost a curved line along the back of the room were white clothed tabled surrounded by red cushioned chairs.

Along the front of the room, was a small group of people with violins, playing a classical version of 'Like I'm Gonna Lose You'. The rest of the room was scattered about with waiters carrying trays of drinks, cheese and crackers, as well as other people dancing and making conversation.

"May I have this dance?" Damon asked Bonnie, holding a hand out to her.

Bonnie smiled, looking over at Lucy, signaling she'd catch up later.

"Of course." she replied, and took his hand.

Damon lead Bonnie out further onto the floor and pulled her closer by her waist. She placed one hand on his shoulder, and her other hand in his; he had his other hand on her waist.

They slowly danced, stepping side to side, forward to back.

"I remember once, you said you don't like to dance." she mused, and he pursed his lips.

"That was before I danced with you." Damon said, with a smile, and watched her face flush.

He spun her around once, and she came colliding back into him, against his chest.

Bonnie exhaled, and tightened the hold she hand on his hand.

"You know everyone is looking at us." he commented, and she shrugged, following his lead in the dance.

Damon smirked at her and stepped forward, then to the side, letting go of her hand and letting her shift to the side, his hand moving from her waist to her back. Bonnie spun once and took his hand again.

"You never told me what's going on between my brother and Caroline." he reminded her, and slid his fingers along her hip slowly.

Bonnie bit at her lip, and looked to the side and Caroline and Stefan who were across the room still, talking. Lily had disappeared into the crowd, Enzo was mulling somewhere with a drink.

"They kissed." she told him, as they swayed.

Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded, and smiled, moving closer and wrapping both her arms around his neck. His arms instantly went around her waist.

"Huh..." Damon mumbled, "Yeah, I can see that."

Across the room, Caroline has already drank her first glass of champagne.

"So, I take it you are dateless, tonight?" Stefan asked her with a small smile, his tie a bit crooked.

She gave him a bit of a side eye, "And, I suppose your date is invisable?"

"Come on, Care, don't be that way." he tilted his head down a bit, giving her a playful look.

Caroline rolled her eyes, "S, we're both dateless? Alert the press."

Stefan smirked, setting both their empty glasses on a passing tray.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked, extending a hand as the song changed to a classical version of 'Portal-Still Alive'

She gave him a look, "I'm fine."

"I didn't ask if you were fine, I asked if you will, please, don't with me, Caroline?" he repeated.

Caroline looked at the floor for a second, her long lashes brushing her cheeks.

"Yes." she replied with a sigh and took his hand, letting him lead her further onto the floor.

He placed a hand on her waist, his other grabbed her hand, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

They danced slowly, though, the song was a bit more up tempo.

"You haven't wanted to talk to me much lately." Stefan started, "Is it because of what happened the other night?"

"No.." Caroline said slowly, "Maybe.. maybe it is."

"I apologize, again, if I over stepped." he replied as they danced.

She sighed, "No, it's alright. I did kiss you back."

Stefan smiled a tad, pulling her closer.

"I broke up with Matt." she mentioned rather randomly, though she didn't seem comfortable with the subject.

He blinked, his forehead creasing.

"Is that why you're being a bit guarded?" he questioned.

Caroline nodded, "Yeah, I haven't even told Bonnie yet..."

Stefan frowned and reach over, grabbing another drink, and handing it to her.

"You seem upset." he said, and she smiled a soft smile and took it.

"Thank you." she took a sip from it.

Stefan pulled her a bit closer, which made the skin on her neck warm.

"I want to kiss you." he told her softly, "But, I can see that you're not ready for that.."

"So.." Stefan trailed off and just held her hand.

Caroline exhaled, and intertwined her fingers with his...

A bit later, and Bonnie had drank two drinks, in place of Damon as she veered the waiters away from him as best as possible.

"Doing good, babe." Damon teased her as she guided the waiter to the left and stepped back over to him.

"Thank you." Bonnie chuckled, "I am.. a bit tipsy though."

He smiled, shaking his head and pulled her over to him, holding her hand.

"Maybe I need to come up with a better plan, rather than drinking for two." she mused.

"Hmmm. Do you think?" Damon smirked, and kissed her on the lips, tasting just a bit of the champagne on her lips.

He inhaled a little, and reminded himself that he didn't need to drink. If he was ever going to drink again, it would be when he felt in complete control, and that wasn't the case yet.

Another waiter walked over and handed them both drinks without asking, and whisked away quicker than they could blind. Bonnie grabbed the one in Damon's hand.

"I think they want us to get drunk." he chuckled.

"Of course, they want us to donate." Enzo's voice came from the side of them.

They both looked over and he was standing there, with a smug smile.

"That's true." Bonnie agreed with a laugh and took a drink out of one of the glasses.

"I'll take that." Enzo offered, and she handed him the second glass, knowing very well she didn't even need the third, much less a forth.

Lily walked over not long after Enzo had and placed a hand on Damon's shoulder.

"Damon, can your mother get a dance?" she asked.

"Sure." Damon chuckled.

"I will get back to you." he said, looking over at Bonnie, and then his eyes flickered over to Enzo.

"You two should talk." he told them, and Bonnie knew what he was trying to say to her.

Lily smiled and dragged him away across the room.

"Why don't we dance?" Enzo asked Bonnie, who's head was a bit clouded as she finished her drink and set it on another waiters tray as he passed.

"Alright." she agreed, tearing her eyes away from where Damon had disappeared too.

Enzo got rid of his glass as well, and then took her hand in his and pulled her closer.

Bonnie placed her arms around his neck without thinking, but he clearly didn't mind because his hands went to her waist.

"You look quiet lovely, Bonnie." he told her, his accent thick.

She smiled, trying to hold back her bodies urge to blush, because she knew now how he felt, and honestly, it was making it harder not to notice the inflection behind his every word and move.

"You look good, as well." she replied, and they swayed side to side.

Bonnie tried to clear her head...

"Look, Enzo, I-" she started, but, something caught her eye.

Across the room was the familiar face of her mother. Abby had just walked in, and she was wearing a floor length, long sleeve maroon gown, her hair in a wavy pony tail.

"Abby..." Bonnie whispered.

"What?" Enzo asked her.

She pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry..I'll be back." she said quickly, and moved away from him, walking across the room.

Bonnie knew well, that Abby wasn't just there to be there. Abby hadn't shown up at a public event in years. This explained the people coming up to talk to her, the photo's being taken of her.

Bonnie tried to tune out the endless string of, 'Abby what made you decided to resurface?' 'Abby whey are you here?' because in all fairness, those paparazzi didn't deserve those answer, they didn't deserve to ask questions. Bonnie did. Abby was her mother.

"Why are you here?" Bonnie said bluntly, stopping on front of her.

Abby blinked, turning her attention to her daughter.

"Bonnie..." she started.

"If you came here hoping to talk, you're out of luck." she said, and all in two second, walked away from her mother, and through the room.

Her heart was beating faster, and she felt a little out of balance, whether it was the alcohol or her emotional trauma, she wasn't sure.

"Bonnie." Abby said, having followed her.

Bonnie turned around, her eyes teary.

"What, Abby?" she asked, just wishing things didn't have to come back to hurt her every single time she started to forget about them.

"I know you're upset with me, but, I want to make up for my mistakes." Abby assured her, stepping a bit closer.

Bonnie swallowed, "How do you plan on doing that? You abandoned me, you abandoned your family. Not only that, but you made a deal, with a terrible man, and I almost died because of it."

Abby furrowed her brow, "I know, I was wrong. I'm not trying to make excuses. I just wish you could listen to me, I hate seeing you so angry Bonnie. I love you."

"I love you!" Bonnie breathed, "That's why I'm so damn upset, because I love you, so much, mom."

A few tears dripped from her eyes, and they were starting to draw a few people's attention.

"But, I'm not ready to talk, I'm not ready to try and make this better." she added.

Abby nodded, "I understand. I hope you will be ready eventually, and you'll know I'm always here."

Bonnie inhaled, her heart aching in her chest and she turned around, more tears running down her face.

She walked away from her mother, and up one of the staircases quickly.

Thankfully, when she passed through the door onto the large patio, very few people were out there, as it was chilly with a breeze.

Bonnie didn't care though, even as the goosebumps rose on her skin, and her hair was ruffled. She wrapped her arms around herself, sniffling.

She just wanted to breath, forget about everything else.

Her mother had missed out on so much of her life. How was Bonnie supposed to begin to forgive her, to talk to her? When she thought about Abby, all she could remember is the day Rudy told her that her mother wasn't coming back. When she looked at her, all she saw was an emptiness.

Bonnie walked over, and leaned against the marble railing of the patio, looking out at the lake across the way.

"There you are." Enzo's voice came from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder, and turned around.

He watched as she quickly wiped at her face, but a dampness was left there.

"Are you alright?" he asked, stepping over and leaning his arm against the railing.

Bonnie cleare dher throat.

"Yeah, uhm, I'm okay." she lied, not wanting to go through the whole thing again.

Enzo tilted his head to the side.

"Don't lie to me. I can see you were crying." he said slowly, his brown eyes scanning her face.

She chuckled tiredly, "Just, drama with my mother..." she started, "I don't know how I'm going to survive the trial and her being there, Abby just being here in general."

He furrowed his brow, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault..." Bonnie reminded him, and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I am still sorry, that you're sad."Enzo told her, "You're in New York, at a ball, in a beautiful dress. You shouldn't be crying."

She smiled softly at him, and turned her head, looking out along the lake again, lights on buildings across from it were nearly brighter than the stars in the sky.

Bonnie inhaled, and ran her fingers along the marble.

"It is beautiful here... Exciting..." she breathed, "Much more exciting than Mystic Falls."

"I don't know... I think Mystic Falls is plenty exciting lately." Enzo said, never taking his eyes off the side of her face.

She nodded, "Yeah, you're right.."

Bonnie turned her head to look at him, a feeling a bit light headed, even as the air brushed against her face gently.

Enzo stepped closer, and ran his fingers along the marble, until they ghosted against her hand.

"A lot of people make their start, in New York." he said slowly, and drug his fingers in a circle along her skin.

She looked down, her hand tingling, and she knew she should move her hand away, but she didn't. Bonnie's heart sped up in her chest.

"Endless possibilities, for the dreamers." Enzo continued.

"I think if you believe in a dream, it doesn't matter where you are." Bonnie told him, trying to go along with his, rather random subject.

He nodded, and pulled his fingers away from her hand.

"I think I've decided something." he told her.

"What?" she asked, curious tilting her head to the side.

Enzo licked his lips, looking away for a second.

"I can't look at you, and pretend I don't want to kiss you." he said straightfowardly, his eyes flickering back over to her face.

Blood rushed up into Bonnie's face, and she removed her hand from the railing.

"Enzo.." she started, "You can't feel that way."

"I know that I shouldn't, and, I've tried not to.." Enzo stepped closer to her, "..but, I can't."

Bonnie felt stuck where she was standing, and it was hard for her to breath. It was different than when she was with Damon. When Damon took her breath, it was comfortable, pleasurable, _euphoric._

The way Enzo seemed to take her breath, freeze her in place, was almost painful, and overwhelming on a perplexing level.

"I love Damon." she whispered, her heart beating faster in her chest, but she couldn't make herself move away from him.

"Tell me, you don't feel something for me, and I'll leave." he said in a desperate tone. A pleading look in his eyes, as if he was trying to compel the universe, into giving him just one good thing.

Enzo was a good man. He never wanted to hurt Damon, he never wanted to fall for a woman that wasn't his to fall for. But, even with all of his willpower, he had convinced himself this was a good idea.

The several drinks in both of them, didn't help the manner.

"I..." Bonnie started, but she couldn't find the words.

Suddenly, as quickly as the breeze could blow her hair back, Enzo's lips were against hers...

* * *

 **A/N:** Lucy Bennett in this story is portrayed by Candice Patton.

* * *

Please **_leave a review_**!


	24. Literal Trial and Tribulation

**A/N:** I hope you enjoy the chapter. I had to do a lot of research on how the judicial system works, and the correct terms for everything in order to write this chapter, which is one reason it took so long. I did bend some rules of how it works in real life in order to make it flow better with the story, but over all I tried to be as correct as possible.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 23** \- Literal Trial and Tribulation_

Suddenly, as quickly as the breeze could blow her hair back, Enzo's lips were against hers...  
It was like the entire world was a blur, everything around them stopped, and morphed into a fuzzy dull doppel of it's self. Bonnie's eyes closed, and their lips moved together like waves, warm, and tasting of the alcohol they'd both partaken in. Enzo's hands moved to her waist, pulled her closer, and she could almost feel his heart beating in the air around them. Everything was buzzing like high wires, lips crashing like lightening.

At least... this is what could have happened.

However, as the breeze ruffled Bonnie's hair. Enzo was in fact, not kissing her. He was still a foot away,and her eyes were wide open, staring into the copper color of his. The fiery, hot kiss, between the two of them had just been one of a series of possible events.

"Enzo..." Bonnie started, maintaining the composer she'd been losing before.

"You can't kiss me." she told him, and watched the light in the mans eyes dim.

Bonnie brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, and took a small step backwards.

"If you kiss me, you'll lose your best friend, you'll lose a family. You don't want that, do you?" she asked, her chest hurting a bit.

Enzo swallowed, and exhaled slowly.

"No, I suppose I don't." he replied, and they just stood there, staring at each other, with sad, but understanding eyes, as music from the party flowed in.

Bonnie brushed at her face with her fingers again and sniffled, "Then, go."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and nodded slowly.

"Feel better, Bonnie." Enzo said, and turned, walking away from her.

She watched him walk out of the balcony doors and once he was gone, she took a deep breath. Exhaling, she turned back around to look across the lake.

It was true, some part of Bonnie had wanted Enzo to kiss her, and she knew, if he kissed her, she would kiss him back. But, kissing Enzo wasn't the only event that had crossed her mind. Outcomes of this action had ran through her mind as well. Damon losing trust in her, hurting, because of that decision.

The truth was, Enzo's kiss would have been nothing like what her mind thought up. It would have been painful, heart breaking, devasting. She knew this, because just the thought, made her stomach hurt, and her chest throb in an uncomfortable way. Her mind thought up, a spark of a kiss, one that would delight her, but Bonnie knew the truth.

Enzo was not the man she loved, and he could never be, because Bonnie didn't want him to be.

Bonnie inhaled, and exhaled another few times, trying to get her head together. She felt guilty, and stupid, amongst a million other things; for not having started her conversation with Enzo with, 'I know how you feel, but'.

Though, she still didn't have this conversation with him. She had rejected him, told him what he couldn't do. Bonnie wasn't so sure she had the heart to out rightly tell him what she needed to.

This was another reason, being with Enzo would not work. Bonnie couldn't be honest with him, not the way she was with Damon. With Damon she could call him out, be angry with him, she didn't feel afraid to be blunt with Damon. With Enzo, she felt like her voice was trapped in her body, he looked so sad, that she didn't want to make it worse.

Ironically, as she was thinking of the dozens of reasons, she loved Damon, a hand on her shoulder nearly startled her several inches into the air.

"There you are, I was looking for you." Damon's voice said, and she turned around to look at him, breathing a little heavily.

"D-Damon, hello." Bonnie breathed, folding her arms across her chest.

He eyed her face which was still a little bit damp, and her makeup was a little worn off around her eyes.

Damon had said the same thing Enzo said, when finding Bonnie on the balcony, the difference was, Bonnie instantly felt the need to remove the distance between them, and lay her head against his chest. But, she didn't, because she knew she had somethings to tell him, and it wasn't going to be easy.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, furrowing his brow.

She exhaled, "Uh, Abby's here."

"Oh, wow, what happened?" Damon asked, stepping over and leaning against the railing.

"Nothing new, really. She wants to be in my life, and I'm not ready." Bonnie explained, her eyes wet again.

He frowned, "I wish there was something I could do."

"Yeah, me too." she sighed, trying to blink away the moisture along her lash line.

Damon reached over and touched her arm, but she didn't respond, just stood there, her face sad.

"What else, happened?" he asked, eying her.

Bonnie swallowed, and stepped a little closer, unfolding her arms.

"Enzo..." she said slowly.

His heart grew heavy in his chest, he knew he wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him.

"What did he do?" Damon asked, his hand falling back down to his side.

Bonnie looked at the floor for a moment, before looking back upwards, at her tall, dark haired, loving husband, his forehead crinkled with concern.

"He, told me he wanted to kiss me." she admitted, and his eyes widened.

"Did he kiss you?" he questioned.

She shook her head, "No, but, if I can't said something, he would have."

Damon swallowed, lifted a hand a scrubbed it across his face, he knew that there was one more question, he needed to ask, and it was the question he was least excited for. His heart was already aching, even as he remained composed, tried to be relived that they hadn't kissed.

"Did you want..." he started and took another breath, "Did you want Enzo, to kiss you?"

Bonnie inhaled, and her hands shook a little bit. She didn't want to answer this, she didn't.

"Yes. Part of me did, yes." she replied, and more tears filled her eyes as she watched the light fade from Damon's eyes. This was a thousand times more painful, than with Enzo.

He exhaled, and took a step back from her, his own eyes glossed over.

"I think I need some time." Damon told her.

"No..." Bonnie started, "Damon.."

"Bon, can you tell me, without a doubt that you don't feel something for Enzo?" he questioned,

She took a step forward, "No.. I can't, but I love you. I want to be with you."

"But you still, wanted to kiss him." Damon said at her, his voice raising a little bit, drawing the attention of some of the people on the patio.

"Everything that's going on, it's messing with my head." Bonnie breathed, furrowing her brow.

Damon tightened his jaw, looking at her, the sadness in his eyes mixing with an anger that for the first time, was projected at her. And she hated it, and he hated being angry with her.

"I need some time." he repeated.

"How much time?" she asked, her heart felt like it was being squeezed.

He looked up, and away from her.

"I don't know." Damon replied, and turned away from her.

"Please, don't walk away from me, let's talk." she asked of him, but he wouldn't even look at her, and starting walking away.

"You know..." Damon started, turned to face her once more.

"I wasn't going to tell you this, because it was supposed to be a surprise, but, I talked to your father. He gave me permission, for you and I, Stefan and Caroline, even Enzo, to stay at your families cabin up north after the trial, for Christmas." he told her, and her heart sunk further.

"But, now, I don't know if I'm going to go." Damon said his eyes wet, and turned around again.

"Damon... please!" Bonnie said taking a step forward, but he had already opened the doors and disappeared.

She swallowed hard, and the tears she had been fighting slowly dripped from her eyes as she put her hand on her mouth to keep from making any sounds.

Their fight hadn't even been what one might call a fight, there was no yelling, there was no name calling, or blaming. This hadn't even been the worst fight, Bonnie had been in, but her heart felt broken.  
She felt stupid, for feeling so hurt, but this only coincided with how much she loved Damon. She would have been crying, even if he had held her in his arms and said he had forgiven her right away.

Crying, Bonnie leaned against the railing, and tried not to draw any more attention to herself, and thankfully, Caroline came wandering in, having seen Damon walking out without Bonnie.

"Hey, what's going on?" Caroline asked, walking over to her.

Bonnie looked at her, face wet, tears still falling and tried to catch her breath.

"Damon and I.. got into a fight, or.. I don't know what it was, but it isn't good." she replied, voice cracking.

"Why?" the blonde inquired, reaching into the invisable pockets on her dress and pulling out a thin plastic package of tissues.

Caroline handed several to her, and moved closer.

"Enzo tried to kiss me..."or, he wanted to anyway." Bonnie told her, "I stopped him, but... Part of me didn't want to."

"Seriously?" she asked, and Bonnie nodded.

Caroline moved closer and wrapped an arm around her, "Oh.. honey.." she sighed, "I was going to tell you I broke up with Matt, but this is.. way worse."

Bonnie blinked, eyes blurry.

"You broke up with Matt." she asked.

Caroline nodded, her eyes getting a little wet, from seeing Bonnie cry and thinking about Matt.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie sighed, and wiped at her face.

"What did Damon say?" she questioned.

Brushing her hair out of her face, Bonnie cleared her throat, trying to regain composure.

"He said..he needs time." she replied.

Caroline furrowed her brow, "I know that, he's probably hurt, but he can't really be that angry. You didn't even kiss."

Bonnie sighed, "Caroline... You don't understand. Damon made it very clear to me, that if Enzo tried anything, he was going to be upset. He asked me, if there was anything between me and Enzo, and I told him there wasn't."

"This can't be the first time, something like this has happened though. From what I've heard, he isn't the most monogamous man on earth." she replied, only trying to help, but she was coming off as cold.

"No, he, wasn't in the past, but that's the point." she told her, rubbing at her face, "Damon wanted to put all the lies, and toxic bullshit of his past relationships away, and I pretty much just threw it all back in his face."

"He trusted me." she whispered, "He gave me the chance to be honest, and I wasn't. He gave me the chance to talk to Enzo, to dispel any feelings Enzo might have for me, and I didn't. Instead, I nearly let him kiss me."

Caroline nodded, "You're right. You hurt him, I shouldn't expect him to react lighter." she frowned, "But, you didn't kiss him, and, I know that you and Damon can work this out. You have too."

Bonnie looked at her, no longer crying, but her face was still wet.

Downstairs, Enzo was in a far corner of the room, having down two more drinks, and was on his third. He'd skipped the champagne and went straight for the liquor. He wasn't normally an emotional, or huge drinker, but after all, he wasn't exactly doing things the normal, good hearted, friendly Enzo would do, now was he?

He knew Damon would discover what had happened or, what had almost happened to be correct, and soon Enzo would have to come face to face with him. But, until then, he was going to make sure he remembered very little the next morning.

He liked Bonnie, more than he should have admitted, but he wasn't so sure he cared. He'd laid his heart out, for the most part and gotten pushed away, per usual. It wasn't the first time Enzo had fallen for a woman he couldn't have, who didn't want him.

Though, it had been a while since the last.

Speaking, of past affections... Enzo's eyes flickered over to Lily who was smiling as she spoke to a tall, brown skinned woman, who he remembered Bonnie and Damon taking photo's with outside o the red carpet.

He downed another drink, and headed over, need conversation to take his mind off the rejection still burning in his brain.

"Lorenzo." Lily said slowly as he stopped in front of the women.

"Mrs. Salvatore." he said, pulling out his accent on her last name a little longer than he needed to.

"Who is this?" Enzo asked, his eyes flickering over to the woman.

"I'm Lucy Bennett, Bonnie's cousin, prosecuting attorney, Gemini." the woman smiled, and held a hand out to him.

He took it, and kissed the top of her hand.

"I'm Lorenzo St. Claire, but I prefer Enzo.. Scorpio." Enzo told her and let her hand go.

"He is Damon's best friend, and he also does the companies taxes." Lily explained.

Lucy smiled, "I see."

She was clearly eying him, though his attention seemed to be mostly on Lily.

Enzo looked to the side just a bit, seeing Stefan wandering around looking for his brother.

"I don't suppose either of you would care to dance?" he asked, and Lily chuckled.

"Not a chance, Enzo." she replied, but Lucy pursed her lips.

Enzo was clearly looking for something more than a dance, and he didn't seem like the worst choice for a tipsy gallivant.

"I'm up for it." Lucy told him, and he smiled a small smile.

She took his hand, and they headed several yards away from Lily.

Enzo put his hands on her waist, and she draped her arms over his shoulders. They swayed slowly.

"So, you seem to have a thing for Lily." she commented, and watched him blink quickly.

"Uh..." he mumbled, "Perhaps at one point, a long time ago."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "Couldn't have been too long ago, you've only been working for Giuseppe a few years."

Enzo eyed her and tightened his arms around her.

"How do you know that?" he questioned.

"I'm the prosecuting attorney, I know everything, about anyone involved in the case." she replied tilting her head upwards a bit.

Enzo pursed his lips, "Hmm. Not sure if that's more or less attractive."

If he was being honest, he didn't care. He wasn't even dancing with Lucy because he wanted to dance with her. Enzo was simply trying to find a substitute for the night.

Lucy smiled though, taking this as a compliment.

"I don't really like playing games." she told him quietly, "So, we can either find a quiet place now, or wish we had later."

"Considering I might have to be a witness, do you think that's a good idea?" he asked her, tilting his head to the side and pressing his fingers into her lower back with more pressure.

Lucy shrugged, "You're not an important witness, unless of course you know something you're not telling me."

"No, I'm of the least importance, I assure you." Enzo said slowly, his words both meant as a tease, and a truth of how he felt.

She moved one of his hands down from his shoulder and pulled his arm from around her.

"Then, lets go." Lucy said in a whisper, grabbing onto his wrist and turning.

They made their way through the crowd of people, Enzo having to speed up just to keep up with the woman. They rounded a corner, where to the side of one of the chair cases was a shadowed corner, with a door to a unknown room. There were a few people lingering, but the paparazzi were scattered in other areas, some of them having been kicked out.

"Where are we going, Narnia?" Enzo joked, and Lucy rolled her eyes, pulling him into the shadowed corner.

He became fully aware of how much she was not messing around, when her lips crashed to his the instant he backed her up against the wall. He kissed her back deeply, but before he could pull her closer, she reached to the side, and turned the knob on the door.

"Ladies first?" he whispered, and she looked to the side, to make sure no one was looking.

Lucy opened the door and slipped into the medium sized room placed underneath the stairs.  
Enzo followed after her, and closed the door, turning the lock on it.

The room was pitch black, and they could hardly see each others faces, but they managed to find each others lips again. Lucy put her hands on Enzo's shoulders and this time he was the one shoved against a wall, and against several coats it seemed.

His hands made their way to her hips and tug at them, pulling her closer. Lucy broke their kiss with a deep breath and kissed along his face. Her hands unbuttoned several buttons on his shirt and loosened his tie. Enzo pulled Lucy's skirt up to her hips and hand his hands along the sides of her thighs. She nibbled along his jawline, but even as she was doing this, she felt like he wasn't as into this as he could be.

Lucy was not a stranger to rendezvous with people she'd just met, in fact, most men had a hard time resisting her. Of course, she didn't sleep with them all, but, the fact was she was skilled at seduction and Enzo seemed... Bored.

She pulled her head away from him and was about to stay something on the subject where there was a knock on the door.

She pulled her skirt back down quickly, and Enzo reached over, unlocking the door. It swung open slowly and there was a staff member holding several coats.

"I'm gonna have to ask that you return to the party." the man said slowly, looking a little red faced and embarrassed.

Lucy licked her lips and brushed a stray hair behind her ear, fixing the side of her skirt more and studded straight out fo the door and past the guy, leaving Enzo behind.

Enzo cleared his throat and walked out as well, fixing the top buttons on his shirt and his tie.

He rejoined the event, following the way Lucy had gone, and saw that she was taking a drink off a tray.  
However, before he could get over there, he felt a hand on his shoulder, which whipped him around so fast his vision went blurry.

"Having fun Enzo?" Damon asked, his eyes angry.

Enzo blinked and stepped back a foot, "Uh."

"Oh, no, wait, I forgot." he laughed, "You can only have fun when you're making moves on someone else's wife."

"Damon.. I didn't do anything." Enzo insisted, which, was true in a physical sense.

Damon inhaled, "You might not have kissed her, but you made it an option."

Lucy was not feet away, witness to the conversation, or more likely, argument.

Enzo took another step backwards, "But, I walked away."

"You still made it an option!" he stepped closer, shoulders sqaured, "You made the decision that confessing whatever feelings you proclaim to have to Bonnie was a valid action, you directly opened up the gate, to an outcome where you kiss my wife. She rejected you yes, but not before she came to a full conclusion that she wanted to kiss you. And in this, crazy circle of new emotions, new prospects suddenly coming into line, there's suddenly doubt. Whether apparent before or after, I don't know..."

Damon swallowed, waving his hand around, "Bonnie knows she wanted to kiss you, you know you want to kiss her, perhaps she still wants to kiss you. But you are doubtful she'd ever chose you, and I am doubtful that I can move past the fact that you have a working brain, yet, when crossed with being loyal to your best friend and screwing him over, you chose the ladder."

Quiet a few people were standing around them now, camera's flashing, Bonnie and Caroline hurried off the balcony and down the stairs.

"In this moment, right now, there are only two things I am positive of, without default. The first is, that thought Bonnie has cut a cord of my trust, I still love her." he he set his jaw, and Enzo just looked at him with sad, regretful, guilt filled eyes.

"Secondly, I will not be an option, chosen of the better two, because there is no other option, Lorenzo." he said in a rough tone, putting his hands on the mans shoulders tightly.

Enzo pulled away from him, bu Damon just grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him forward.

"You are not an option." he told him, "Though Bonnie and I may be having a disagreement, if you lay even one finger on my wife..."

Lily suddenly rushed over to pull Damon away from Enzo, seeing that he was getting a little too carried away, and with all the paparazzi, she didn't want him front and center on a paper next to the words '...beats man to death.'.

"Damon, leave him alone." she said, moving in between them.

"Enzo you need to leave, find a way home." Lily told him, and Enzo exhaled, turning around and walking away, without an apology, or a single word.

She turned around to look at her son, whose eyes were a little red, his tie was crooked and he looked like he wanted to down sixty shots.

"Hey, it's okay." Lily whispered, not knowing the whole story, but based on the fact that Bonnie was standing a few yards away, just looking over with morose emerald eyes, it wasn't that difficult to piece together.

"No, it's not. He's my best friend, he's supposed to have my back, not stab me in it." Damon whispered lowly.

Lily fixed his tie and touched his face.

"I know. It'll be okay though. Bonnie loves you." she assured him.

Damon's hands were shaky.

"I need to sit down before tonight becomes the last night I'm sober." he breathed.

Lily nodded and patted his face gently before leading him through the surrounding people and to a table. Everyone started to break back up and pretending to mind their own business while casually murmuring about the scene.

Lucy had disappeared, going after Enzo who was nearly out of the door.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him, stopping several feet away and looking at the back of his head.

Enzo sighed, and turned around to look at her.

"You try to lay your moved on my cousin and then decide I'm a good rebound choice?" Lucy asked, shaking her head.

"Trust me, it wasn't about you being her cousin." he told her.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "I catch people in lies for a living." she stepped closer, "Don't even attempt to talk your way out of it.

"Goodnight, Lucy." he said and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, have fun catching an uber." she glared at him.

Enzo turned around and started away from her.

"Oh, and you sure as hell better be at the trial asshole!" Lucy yelled after him, and then turned around almost crashing straight into Bonnie.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked confused, her face dry now, but her eyes a bit red.

Lucy exhaled a long sigh, "Enzo and I made out, but he failed to mention his previous attempt at seducing you."

Her eyes widened, "Oh my god, seriously?"

"Yeah. Needless to say, I feel like throwing up." she replied, folding her arms across her chest.

Bonnie swallowed, "I didn't think he was.."

"..that kind of guy?" Lucy interrupted her with a chuckle.

"No... I guess not." she said, frowning a bit.

"Sweet heart, he tried to romance a married woman. Any previous opinions you might have had about him are mute. You clearly don't know the guy as well as you think you do." she told her, and reached over to brush some of her cousins hair behind her ear.

Bonnie shook her head, "We didn't even kiss, and yet, I feel like everything's ruined between Damon and I."

Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Everything isn't ruined. You have some emotions to get sorted out, and Damon's hurt. That won't last forever. I saw you two dancing, I see how much you care about each other." she told her.

Bonnie smiled a small smile, "I hope you're right."

"But, honestly, after knowing that Enzo kissed you, I suddenly have zero interest in him. No offense." she added.

Lucy smiled, "None taken... Just give Damon some time. You need to focus on getting ready for the trial anyway."

"What exactly do I need to do?" she asked, a little nervous.

"Well, Damon and you need to testify, but I will work with you to separately." she explain.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "I don't even know what to say..." she sighed.

"That's why I'm here. I'll talk you through it, decide exactly what you want to say, what you don't have to answer..." Lucy assured her.

Bonnie nodded, and her eyes flickered over to the side where Damon was sitting at a table with Lily and Stefan.

As if things weren't complicated enough, she'd pushed away the person who gave her the most strength.

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Bonnie was slowly trying to find her way with the musical playing in the library of the Salvatore house. She wasn't yet able to get back in her pointe shoes, but Caroline insisted that she get back to practicing ballet, even if she wasn't part of the academy anymore.

"I don't do this." she sighed, lifting a hand to touch her forehead.

Caroline stepped over and pushed pause on the music on her phone.

"You're out of practice, but you can do it!" she assured her, stepping over in her shorts and tank top, hair pulled up in a ponytail that mirrored Bonnie's.

"That's not what I meant." Bonnie replied with a sigh and walked over to sit down on the loveseat.

Caroline frowned a bit and folded her arms.

"I know you and Damon haven't been talking much the last few days..." she said quietly.

Bonnie shook her head, "He won't talk to me at all. Not to mention, all Lucy will tell me if that he's good on his feet and he has everything planned for if we have a jury trial."

"That's good though. You seem to have your head figured out as well." she told her, and stepped closer, leaning her lip against the armrest.

"I don't want to hear about what he's going to stay on the stand, I mean, chances are we aren't going to need to take any stand." she sighed, leaning her head back.

Caroline eyed her, "You really think Giuseppe's going to plead guilty then?"

"It's his best choice. We already know that Alice has taken a plea bargain, she'll get just a year in jail and probation. If Giuseppe doesn't plead guilty, he'll have no one on his side to even prove him innocent." Bonnie explained, having soaked up an annoying amount of information about criminal law over the last few days.

"It's all so confusing." Caroline exhaled and plopped down on the couch beside her.

Bonnie leaned her head back up, "Tell me about."

"At first, I thought Giuseppe would surely be charged with attempted murder, but, it turns out that's not how it works." she continued, "He didn't commit the crimes."

"So, what is he going to be charged with? Besides domestic violence against Lily." she asked, pulling the tie out of her blonde hair.

Bonnie breathed, vibrating her lips trying to remember what Lucy had told her.

"Conspiracy to commit murder and coercion." she told her, "With Alice's deal she's charged with attempted murder but due to the aforementioned coercion by Giuseppe, and her working with the law, she's escaping a thirty year sentence."

Caroline blinked, "Well, that's good for Alice. I don't know about Giuseppe though. How long does he get?"

"The agreement between Lucy and the D.A is a combined twenty years for all crimes, with chance for parole at ten years. Technically, we already know that Giuseppe and the D.A have decided he's going to plead guilty, but it won't be official until court later. If he still agrees to pled guilty, he will be sentenced right there, if he doesn't then..." Bonnie waved her hand, "We'll have a jury trial."

"Twenty years doesn't seem like that long..." she furrowed her brow.

"Well, he didn't do it, so." she replied with a sigh, "If it weren't for him abusing Lily, he might only be serving five years." Bonnie told her.

Caroline groaned, "This is so confusing! I feel like the law is one giant glass jar, and they just pull a piece of paper out to decide on things."

She chuckled a bit.

"Yeah. But, at least he's going to be in jail." she reminded her.

"Yeah..." the blonde nodded, "Oh, I'm sorry. You wanted to talk about Damon and I veered the conversation into criminal justice..."

Bonnie shrugged and leaned to the side against Caroline.

"I still don't know if Damon is going to the cabin with us. It's already bad enough that my dad isn't going to be here." she frowned.

"Rudy's coming for Christmas though right?" she asked, wrapping her arm around her.

"I think so, I need to call him, make sure..." Bonnie sighed.

Enzo had been completely awol since the charity ball, and it was no surprise that no one wanted him to go on the trip up north either. So far, the only ones who were for sure going were Caroline, Stefan and Bonnie.

Damon would hardly look at Bonnie. Though of course he was hardly home. Starting 2016, Damon was the head of their company, so he was busy getting ready for court, and reorganizing their company for three days. When he was home, he didn't seem interested in conversing with anyone, and while Lily was still at the house until the sentencing, he didn't want to talk to her much either.

"Damon said he needed time, I didn't think he meant time to give me the perpetual silent treatment." Bonnie sat back up straight.

"He's not giving you the silent treatment." Caroline chuckled, "He's just busy, and hurt. You need to make him believe he can trust you, you have to talk to him."

Bonnie glared at her friend, "I've been trying, he doesn't want to talk."

"I don't mean talk, I mean..." her friend waved her hands, "...explode."

"...Explode?" she asked, with a amused look on her face.

Caroline laughed and turned to face her more.

"Like, when you're watching a show, and there's this moment, where the conversation, the argument, whatever, turns into the most cliché, loving, passionate thing and it just makes your heart..." she made a explosion sound.

"You have to do that to him." she finished.

Bonnie smiled a little, "Care this isn't a soap opera. I can't pull general hospital level romantic gestures out of my ear and Damon just forgive me on spot."

"No, of course not." Caroline smiled, "But you can make him feel something, something other than what he feels right now and I think that's a good start."

"I hope so." she replied, and leaned forward, grabbing her phone off the table to look at her messages.

There was none, and this was a little saddening. Her father hadn't messaged her good luck, Damon hadn't messaged her about if he was going to come home or just meet her at the court house.

"So, Alice is being sentences now right?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. It's not as big of a deal as Giuseppe, we're only going for his sentencing." Bonnie told her, "Lucy is with the D.A making sure everyone is happy with the agreements."

"I expected this to be a lot different." she mused.

Bonnie turned her head to look at her, "What like a forty eight hours episode?" she teased.

Caroline shrugged, "At least a couple of hours in the court room arguing maybe."

"Well, you're out of luck. With out a jury trial isn't just Giuseppe telling the judge he officially pleads guilty and the judge sentencing. Of course, if the judge wants to they can alter the agreement, if it seems unfair." Bonnie sighed.

"That takes like what, ten minutes?" Care teased.

Bonnie chuckled, "Maybe thirty, at the most."

"I do agree though. When Damon said jury trial the other day, I was a little excited, having known nothing about plea bargains." she continued, "But, now I've learned so much about the law, I'll probably never jay walk again."

Caroline smiled, "Hey, you're joking, which is good."

"Yeah. I guess my humor withstands marital troubles." Bonnie shrugged.

Her phone started ringing her in her hand which startled her.

Lucy Bennett popped up on the screen and she answered quickly.

"Lucy, hello." she said.

"Bonnie! I wanted to let you know, Alice sentencing is over, so you should probably get to the court house." Lucy told her and Bonnie could hear her cousins heels clicking as she walked.

"Okay, be there soon." Bonnie told her, and hung up.

Caroline stood up at the same time as her.

"I guess we better change." she chuckled.

* * *

Damon was clad in his suit as he drove in his car from the meeting he'd just been in. It was never ending paper signing, and convincing people to hold off pulling out of the company until they had time to meet more after new years.

This was the furthest thing from his mind in reality. He knew that after the sentencing, he'd have to decide whether or not to spend several weeks up north with Bonnie, Stefan and Caroline. Enzo hadn't said whether he was going or not, but it was kind of obvious that he wasn't welcome.

Damon had never been so conflicted in his life. Could he even still call Enzo his friend? What was he supposed to say to Bonnie? He'd been avoiding thinking about the situation, but he knew that he was just avoiding everyone in his life rather than handling things in a mature manner Thankfully, he hadn't broken his sobriety. Not for lack of wanting too. He was just glad he'd decided not to go through with suing Mystic General, he had enough problems.

He sighed when he saw Bonnie's name pop up on his phone that was charging on the dashboard.

Not talking to Bonnie, not holding her, was difficult for him. But, he didn't want to be the guy who just forgives her in a second, who just brushes it off like it doesn't matter. He'd been that guy, and it got him royally screwed several times. As stupid as it might seem to someone else, it bothered him that Enzo cared for Bonnie, and that some part of her cared, or even had cared him.

Not that Damon would know what was going on the last few days. The downside of ignoring everyone.

"Hello." he answered after the seventh ring, and he could almost hear the relief in Bonnie's voice that he had even answered.

"Are you almost to the court house?" she asked him, and he stopped at a light.

"Five minutes, right around the corner." Damon replied, both hands on the wheel, she was on speaker.

Bonnie was silent for a second, "Alright..."

Now he was silent, and pulled ahead when the light turned green.

"That it?" he asked, his chest heavy.

"Uh, yeah." was all she said, and then he heard the sound of her hanging up.

Damon sighed and lifted a hand, scrubbing it over his face.

"By the way, I love you." he mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

He pulled into the parking lot several moments later and parked, fixing it tie in the rear view mirror. From the corner of his eyes he could see Bonnie standing in the cold, with the wind blowing strand of her hair which was already covered in a thin layer of snow around. It was obvious she was waiting for him, because no one else was standing outside.

Damon pulled his phone off the charger and shoved it in his pocket with his keys and got out of the camaro.

"Damon." Bonnie said quietly as she saw him walking towards her.

He stopped several feet from her, looking at her fully for the first time in days.

Her curls were wispy around her head, and she was wearing a blue knee length dress underneath her coat.

"We better get inside." he said, and she seemed disappointed that this was all he had said.

But, she didn't disagree and instead turned around and Damon followed her inside the building, watching from behind her as the snow melted into her hair.

As they were walking, Lily appeared and walked over to him, stopping him from following Bonnie.

"Good, you're here." she said slowly, but her eyes were worried.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Damon asked.

Lily pursed her lips, "Well, because Enzo is."

He blinked, "Why..." he started, "No, never mind. I should have expected him to be here."

Damon shook his head and raked his fingers through his snow dampened hair.

"I'll be in the court room. Don't do anything stupid." his mother told him, tapping her finger on his shoulder

"I won't if he doesn't." he replied quietly, and watched her walk away, through the double doors into the room.

Damon headed down the hall, the way Bonnie had done, but stopped before he could turn the corner. He heard Bonnie talking, and quickly recognized the voice of who she was talking too.

"I know you don't want to talk, or work things through, but I wanted to be here for you." Abby spoke.

Damon moved back a little, leaning against the wall by his shoulder, listening.

"I understand. I don't want to argue, you're not the only person I'm distant from at the moment." Bonnie sighed,and Damon's forehead creased.

"If you want to talk about anything..." her mother started, but was interrupted.

"No, I'm not ready for that." Bonnie told her, and there was mumbling that was a little too quiet for him to hear.

Several seconds later, Abby came walking around the corner, and was slightly startled by Damon's presence.

"Sorry." he said slowly.

Abby just looked at him for another few seconds before walking away and into the court room.

Bonnie rounded the corner not long after and face planted Damon right in the chest, stumbling back a few steps.

"Opp!" Damon breathed and instinctively reached outwards to grab her by the arm and keep her from falling on the ground.

Bonnie steadied herself, him still holding her arm.

"Thanks." she said quietly, and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

Damon nodded and let go of her arm, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry about your mother." he told her, watching her emerald eyes flicker upwards to his face.

"Yeah, me too." Bonnie bit at her lip.

He just stood there, knowing the look on her face. He knew she wanted him to hug her, to touch her face, anything.

After a moment of just standing there looking at each other in silence, Bonnie sighed.

"I understand you're upset, but please don't punish me by taking your love away." she said, furrowing her brow.

Damon blinked, "I haven't taken it, it's very much still there." he said slowly.

"No, you're hiding it from me." Bonnie whispered, "If you're trying to hurt me, it's working."

He wasn't sure what to say, but before he could even think of anything, Lucy came walking through the double doors and down the hallway too them.

"Sorry to interrupt but everyone needs to be in the court room." Lucy said, dressed in slacks, and a red shirt, glasses on her face with her hair along her shoulders.

Damon followed her, with Bonnie behind him.

Bonnie was feeling even more ignored than when he was actually ignoring her. She slipped into a seat beside Caroline, her eyes flickering across the room where she saw Enzo sitting all by his lonesome in the back. Stefan was seated on the other side of Caroline, Lily beside him.

"You alright?" Stefan asked, leaning forward so he could look at Bonnie.

"As alright as I can be." she replied, and she gave her a sympathetic look.

Stefan of course didn't agree with what had happened between his brother and sister in law, but, he didn't hate Bonnie. She looked lonely the last few days, even when Caroline was around.

Damon had walked around, and sat the furthest away from Bonnie, beside Lily.

Lucy was near the front, going through papers and shoving them back in folders, and into a brief case.

After several minutes, Giuseppe was brought out in handcuffs, the D.A speaking to him in hushed tones.

Caroline slid her hand over to hold Bonnie's, knowing she needed it. Bonnie smiled just a tad and took a breath.

The female clerk walked out at the same time as the male judge, Judge Franklin. And Giuseppe was lead over to stand centerfold of the judges bench.

"All rise." the clerk spoke, and everyone stood up except the judge.

"Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Louis Franklin presiding, everyone except Giuseppe Salvatore please be seated." she said, and everyone sat, except the police officer and Giuseppe.

Bonnie bit at the inside of her cheek, watching. Though she knew the outcome and that this would be over in a matter of minutes compared to a jury trial, she was nervous.

The Judge finished looking through the papers on his bench and then folded his hands.

"In the matter of the Common Wealth of Virginia vs Salvatore, Mr. Salvatore, how do you plead?" Judge Franklin asked.

"Guilty, your Honor." Giuseppe replied.

"Counsel, have you reached an agreement?" the judge questioned.

Giuseppe defense attorney stood, "Yes, your Honor. The people have agreed to the terms of the plea bargain as long as Mr. Salvatore is placed in a 'white collar' prison."

Lucy stood up next, "Yes, your Honor. The people have agreed to the terms of the plea bargain, as long as Mr. Salvatore is withheld from parole for ten years.

The Judge nodded and the two attorneys took a seat.

"What's a white collar prison?" Caroline whispered.

Bonnie leaned over a little, "It's a prison for executive businessmen, town and state officials, those of high profile."

Caroline made a small 'oh' with her mouth and turned her attention back to the scene before them.

"Mr. Salvatore, do you know that by pleading guilty you lose the right to a jury trial?" Judge Franklin questioned.

"Yes, your Honor." Giuseppe said slowly.

"Do you give up that right?" he asked.

The man nodded, "Yes, your Honor."

"Do you understand what giving up that right means?" Franklin inquired.

"Yes." Giuseppe swallowed.

"Do you know that you are waiving the right to cross-examine your accusers?" the judge continued.

"Yes, I do." Giuseppe nodded again.

"Do you know what you are waiving your privilege against self-incrimination?" Franklin asked.

"Yes." he replied.

"Did anyone force you into accepting this agreement?" he questioned.

"No." Giuseppe told him."

"Are you pleading guilty because you did in fact coheres and conspire with Mrs. Alice Cottrell in the attempted murder of Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore?"Judge Franklin inquired.

"Yes." Giuseppe told him.

"Are you pleading guilty because you did in fact abuse Mrs. Lily Salvatore for twenty seven years, and continued to do so until recently?" he asked.

"Yes." he replied, swallowing hard. This he actually seemed sorry for. Lily furrowed her brow and had to look away from the bench.

"You okay?" Damon whispered, and his mother nodded but continued looking away.

"Mr. Salvatore, you are hereby sentenced to twenty years in the Federal Prison Camp, Falls Church Virginia, without parole for ten years, on my condition that you complete an anger management course while there." Judge Franklin signed of on several papers on his bench, and then banged his gavel twice.

"Court is adjourned." he said and stood, walking through the door to the side and back to his chambers.

Bonnie exhaled and closed her eyes for a second.

Giuseppe turned around, his eyes flickering over to Lily, who had looked over and their eyes met.  
There was an unspoken love that was still there, but it was far from sullied now.

The officer lead Giuseppe out of the court room, his attorney following after.

Lucy turned around and gave a small smile.

Bonnie stood up, "I need some air." she mumbled and hurried out of the court room.

When Damon look to the side, he saw that Enzo had slipped out several moments before.

"Well, he's gone for a while." Lucy chuckled, referring to Giuseppe as she walked over to them.

Damon didn't have a very good feeling, and he bit at his lip, wondering if he should check on Bonnie.

Bonnie was grabbing a water bottle from a vending machine when she felt a presence behind her in the empty hallway. She turned around quickly to see Enzo standing literally inches from her and gasped.

"Enzo." she breathed, startled.

He didn't look too good, he looked tired, and frustrated.

"So, I guess you decided to just push me to the side like Damon too, huh?" Enzo asked, tightening his jaw.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "Now is not the time for that conversation."

She moved to the side and stepped away from him. However, clearly didn't want to end the discussion as he grabbed Bonnie's arm and she was whipped around, tossed two feet backwards where she crashed into the wall. Enzo stepped forward quickly, and kept her from moving, pinning her to the wall.

"What are y-" she started, but was a little out of breath.

"According to Damon, I'm not an option, but I'd like to hear your opinion on that." Enzo said, staring into her eyes.

Bonnie struggled in his hold, "Enzo, this isn't you. Just, let me go, and we can talk when you're thinking clearly."

Something was obviously wrong with him, he looked like he'd been up all night, red eyed, smelled like malt liquor.

While Caroline was talking with Lucy still in the court room, Damon had decided to look for Bonnie. He was half way down the second hallway when he heard Bonnie's voice.

"Enzo, let me go." she said in a huff.

Damon blinked and hurried forward, rounding the corner to see Enzo having backed Bonnie up against a wall.

"Hey!" he snapped, "Get your hands off of her."

Damon grabbed Enzo by the back of his shirt collar and yanked him back several feet.

Enzo stumbled a little backwards, and Damon got right up in his face.

"I told you, not to touch her. Now what are we going to do about this?" he asked lowly.

"Do it, I dare you." Enzo sneered back at him, and shoved him.

Damon inhaled and grabbed Enzo by the front of his shirt.

"Damon don't hurt him!" Bonnie breathed, not wanting this to turn into something both men would regret.

She watched Damon let Enzo go, and turn around to look at her with angry eyes.

"Seriously?" he asked, "He was just pinning you against a wall and you don't want me to hurt him."

Bonnie shook her head, "I just don't want you to fight." she said quickly.

Damon chuckled, "Yeah, okay."

He turned on his heel and started away.

Bonnie watched him round the corner, debating on whether or not to go after him.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked Enzo before rushing around the corner. Damon was a ways ahead of her.

"Damon, wait!" she called, running down the hallway.

"What!?" he tempered, turning around to look at her.

"Please, talk to me. Listen to me, for one second just open up to me instead of getting angry." Bonnie pleaded.

"Bonnie, I don't have the patience to listen right now." Damon told her, stepping closer, "I want to rip Enzo's head off, that's how upset I am."

Bonnie swallowed, "I know, baby..." she furrowed her brow "I know, that's why I told you to stop, because you're not a guy who hurts people. I know you're not."

"I can't do this right now, you need to understand that." he said slowly.

"Then... Come up north with Caroline, Stefan and I. Don't make me spent our first Christmas without you." she whispered.

Damon looked away for a second, "Fine. I'll come."

"Thank you." Bonnie smile a little bit, and then watched him walk away from her.

The second he was gone, she turned around and stormed back down the hallway, and around the corner.

"You!" Bonnie huffed, stepping Enzo in his tracks from walking away from her, and he turned around to look at her.

She stomped over to him and looked up at him.

"I was ready to try and talk to you, to invite you up north and hope we could all work this." Bonnie told him, "But clearly, you don't care about working this out, and have some weird egotistical make thing going on and can't even apologize. I am not going to deal with it."

"Bonnie t-" Enzo started.

"N-n-n-no. Shut up!" she retorted.

Bonnie took a breath, "I love Damon, only him, and secondly, I would have been okay with you getting with my cousin, if I didn't feel like it was direct retaliation against me." she took a step back.

"Third, consider yourself officially uninvited from anything, and everything that isn't business related."

Bonnie turned around and walked through the hallway. She sighed when she got out to the main area, looking through the doors at the snow outside.

"Hey, there you are." Lucy's voice came from beside her.

"Yup, here I am." she chuckled tiredly.

"Damon still not talking to you?" she asked.

Bonnie pursed her lips, "Yes and no. Either way, Damon and I have a mutual interest in round house kicking Enzo."

Lucy chuckled, "Oh, honey, I wish I could stay and lawyer you through this."

"You can't stay?" she asked, "I was hoping maybe you could come up north with us, to the cabin we used to go to as kids."

"I am afraid I have work." her cousin frowned.

"That's alright, if you don't round up the criminals, who will?" Bonnie teased and stepped over to wrap her arms around Lucy.

Lucy hugged her back tightly.

"I will be coming to visit though, both Rudy and you, so make sure he is actually here next time." she smiled.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I love him, but the man cannot keep a schedule to save his own life. I will be lucky if I see him on Christmas."

"Tell you what, I'll have my mama call him. Give him a good talking to." Lucy smirked and pulled away from the hug.

"Good luck with that." she whispered.

"I gotta get on the road, but I will ake an attempt to keep in touch." Lucy chuckled.

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, me too. I love you." she smiled a small smile.

"I love you too, and, good luck with your hubby." she smirked and gave her a little wink.

Bonnie blushed and nodded again, watching her walk out of the building.

She wasn't alone for long, as Caroline quickly rushed over to hug her out of no where.

"I'm so glad this is over, we can go to Michigan!" she squealed, squeezing Bonnie hard.

Bonnie gasped, "C-Care..can't..breathe."

Caroline let her go, "Oh, sorry." she snickered.

"By the way, I talked Damon into coming with us." she informed her.

Caroline's eyes went wide, "Oh my gosh! This is great, you two are totally going to make up on this trip I know it."

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah I hope so."

"And..." the blonde wiggled her eyebrows, "Maybe... Finally.. give you some use for the lingerie you got at the mall."

"Oh, well, since we're going there, maybe you'll get some use out of yours." Bonnie teased.

Caroline flushed and looked away for a second.

"So, we better go and finish getting packed." she suggested.

Bonnie chuckled, "Exactly.."

* * *

Several hours later, Damon, Bonnie, Stefan and Caroline had all been in the car for about two hours, and the sun had already set, the moon just barely rising.

Damon still hadn't said much to Bonnie, despite the fact they were in the back seat together.

"Alright, in about thirty minutes, I'm tappin' out and it's your turn to drive Damon." Stefan said as they sped down the freeway.

"Okay." Damon said quietly, "I think we should stop in Alexandria Ohio, get motel rooms, finish driving tomorrow."

Caroline tapped on her phone several times.

"Yeah, okay, that's four more hours" she agreed.

Bonnie shifted in her seat, looking at Damon through the darkness, her head leaning against the window.

"Road trips always make me restless." she commented, sitting up straight and arching her back as she attempted to stretch.

Damon's eyes flickered over to her.

"There's a rest stop in twenty minutes, Damon can switch with me there and we can all get out and stretch." Stefan told her.

Bonnie nodded though he couldn't see her and bit at her lip when Damon looked away from her and out of the window. She desperately wanted to talk to him, but at the same time, would prefer the other two pairs of ears weren't present.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into a rest area as planned and it was raining. Lightly but, the clouds were covering the sky, blocking any star or moonlight from peeking through.

Bonnie had gotten out of the car first and practically ran to the bathroom, with regrets about the large iced tea she'd downed. When she rounded out of the bathroom and towards the vending machines she saw Damon standing by one, Caroline and Stefan were standing underneath the room of a standing area talking.

She slowly made her way through the rain and across to the vending machines, only getting a little wet.

"What are you getting?" Bonnie asked Damon casually as he slid his credit card on the slider of the vending machine.

"Honey bun..." he replied, "Coffee." he lifted his other hand that had a small lidded up in it.

"Yeah, you know that sounds good." she commented.

Damon licked at his lips, "I'll get you them." he offered.

Bonnie's lips turned up at the edges, "Thank you."

Damon bought her her honey bun and coffee with vanilla creamer, and they stood looking out the glass wall through the rain at Stefan and Caroline.

"Stefan told you Caroline broke up with Matt, right?" she asked casually.

"Yes." he replied, "They do look a little closer than usual."

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, they do. They're kind of cute." she smiled a bit.

Damon looked over at the side of her face. There was an undeniable truth beating in his chest, one he had been avoiding but as he looked at her smile, her small hands wrapped around her coffee cup, and her hair flowing along her shoulders, he couldn't anymore.

Damon loved Bonnie.

"Oh, looks like they're ready to go." she chuckled watching Caroline wave her arms in the rain as she shuffled back tot he car, Stefan running after her.

"Better get back." he said softly, and moments later they made their way back to the car as well.

Four hours, and despite coffee, a lot of snoring later, and they were at the motel. Or maybe it was five hours, all Bonnie knew, was when she opened her eyes, she was staring straight into the blanket on the bed with her shoes and coat off.

She could vaguely remember Caroline telling her to wake up when they pulled in the parking lot, and she also remembered the sound of rain. Actually, she was still hearing rain.

"It's still raining?" Bonnie mumbled sleepily,her vision clearing and she could see the wall down through the yellow room lighting.

"Hey, you're awake." Caroline said from the left of her.

She rolled over to see Caroline on the other bed, several feet away staring into the abyss of her phone which was pinging constantly.

"What time is it, and how did I get in the room?" Bonnie asked, sitting up slowly and brushing the hair out of her face.

"Around midnight, and Damon carried you in." Caroline said slowly, her eyes flickering over to look at her friend.

Bonnie smiled a little, "Really, he carried me?"

"Of course, the guys in love with you, he practically sewed my mouth shut when I was trying to wake you up." she replied.

"I wish he'd act like he cares to my face." Bonnie grumbled and got out of bed, finding her bag to get her pajamas.

"Well, if you want to talk to him, Stefan and Damon are in the room two down." Caroline told her.

Bonnie eyed Caroline, "Yet, you're texting Stefan like a maniac. I think you're the one who should go over there." she teased.

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Go back to sleep grump."

"Mmmhm" she stuck out her tongue at her, and Caroline chuckled, turning her attention back to her phone.

Bonnie changed into her pajamas, and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm gonna go to the vending machine." she said, and Caroline mumbled incoherently as she typed.

Bonnie chuckled and grabbed some dollars out of her purse before making her way out of the door.

The rain was pouring door, but the sidewalk was covered and dry, the ran just pooling and swirling along the pavement of the parking lot. Outside was dimly lit and she could hear cars on the highway even though it was a solid half mile away.

Her bare feet smacked along the sidewalk as she made her way to the room with a vending machine, coffee machine, and a washer and dryer.

She bought three packs of oreos and headed out of the room. However, as she grew closer to the room, she realized she didn't want to go back inside. Outside was peaceful with the pouring of rain, and cool, but not too cold somehow even for December.

Bonnie sat down on the sidewalk and leaned back against the brick walling in between two doors.

She opened the first pack of oreos and practically inhale them.

She lost track of time staring out at the rain, but she heard boots thudding against the walkway, and suddenly Damon stopped when he saw her there on the ground.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"Sitting on the sidewalk, eating three peoples worth of cookies." Bonnie replied popping another one in her mouth.

Damon looked down at her, chocolate surrounding her both a little bit.

"I can see that." he said slowly, a little amused.

After a second of standing there he moved down and sat on the sidewalk beside her.

"If you think, you're going to get even one of these..." she said with her mouthful and moved the one and half packages far away from his grasp.

"You have like twelve left." Damon commented, and reached over but she just kept holding them further away.

He extended his arm further, "I am a whole foot taller than you, you can't hold them that far away."

"Ah! No!" Bonnie squealed, leaning to the side but he managed to grab the half pack.

Damon shoved one in his mouth and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Bonnie laughed, smiling.

"You're teeth are black." he told her, pointing.

"So are yours." she giggled, and for half a second, they completely forgot every horrible distant second of the last three days.

Damon inhaled and cleared his throat, setting the pack on the sidewalk, and then leaned his head back against the wall.

"Damon, you know I'm sorry, right?" Bonnie asked, her forehead creasing.

"I know you are... I can see it in your face." he sighed, "But, you told me you wanted to kiss Enzo, those words alone are almost burnt into my brain."

She frowned, "I know. Believe me, I know. But, I love you, Damon." she turned a little towards him.

"Remember our first fight?" Bonnie asked him.

"Yeah." Damon tilted his head forward and looked at her, "I took Lucia's room key, we were both drunk out of our minds. You were in tears, and I stormed out."

"After words, you came back, and we talked." she whispered, "We talked, and I forgave you, because I knew you didn't mean to hurt me."

Damon's blue eyes glimmered a bit, "I do forgive you, Bon." he said quietly.

"Then, why are you being so distant. I can hardly handle it." Bonnie questioned.

He took a breath... "I seen so many couples who are in love, that just don't work. Sometimes, I'm worried I'm not romantic enough, that we aren't romantic enough, and we won't last. I've changed, so drastically since we met, and I like it, I like for the most part the person I am now."

"I'm just terrified of losing you somehow. I have been since you were in the coma. It triggered this part of me that just knows I will do anything not to lose you." Damon finished, and Bonnie tilted her head to the side.

"That's not us. Damon. We can make it, we will." Bonnie assured him.

"How can you know?" he asked her.

She sighed and looked away from him for a moment, but then her lips turned up at the edges.

Bonnie stood up, the cookie package falling to the ground and she ran straight off the sidewalk and into the parking lot. The rain came crashing down to meet her skin and instantly soaked in, bluring most of her vision and within seconds her hair was beginning to dampen.

"What are you doing?" Damon called after her, standing up.

"You want romantic!" Bonnie yelled back through the rain, "I can't promise I won't hurt you again, but I can promise, I will always be honest with you."

Damon watched his wife through the rain as it soaked her, and took a step out into the rain, feeling the cool water along his face, soaking into is black t-shirt.

"I'm standing in the rain! Asking you to kiss me." Bonnie took a deep breath, "Asking you to let me back in... What in the hell is more romantic than that?"

Bonnie just looked at him through the rain and the steam radiating off the blacktop.

Before she could speak again, Damon rushed over and grasp her face in his hands. Their lips crashed against each others heavy like lightning, wet and warm. Bonnie melted into him as his fingers tangled in her wet hair. She tossed her arms around his neck, standing on her tip toes as they kiss. Their breathing heavy, lips sweet, like they were the efflorescent storm of too many hours apart.

Bonnie suddenly pulled away from him, though his lips almost refused to let go of hers and his chin tips against hers, rain dripping from his face and mixing with hers.

"I love you." she told him.

"I love you." Damon said back.

"We are soaking wet." Bonnie laughed, blinking in between drops of later on her lashes.

"Yeah, maybe not the best idea." he replied with a smirk.

They kissed again, with the familiarity they'd been missing. They knew exactly how their lips fit together, every touch of Bonnie's hands along the back of his neck, Damon's hands at her waist.  
They had each other memorized, and Damon pulled her closer, breaking the kiss and opening his eyes to stare into hers as they fluttered open. They felt as if they'd collided in something resembling evermore. As if there was no before, and they had always been together.

* * *

Please _**leave a review**_!


	25. The Warmth of Temptation

**A/N:** This chapter contains mature content.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 24** – The Warmth of Temptation_

 _Present_

The room was dark and quiet as Bonnie lay underneath the warm covers in Caroline and her hotel room. Her head was resting calmly on two pillow and she was staring into the nothingness of the side of the nightstand. She wasn't upset, however. In fact, Bonnie was actually happy, calm, hopeful. The moment with Damon outside in the rain had been one of the best moments since she married him. It was hard to believe that was only three months before, it felt like just a few days had passed, yet also as though it had been forever.

Bonnie had realized some time before that she was subconciously trying to make up for time she had lost in the coma. Three weeks had passed, and she knew only very little of what went on around her. While she was mostly healed, with almost all of her bruises gone, or faded so much you wouldn't know they were there unless you were close up, Bonnie felt as though she should just forget about the ordeal. It wasn't as easy as just forgetting, but, at least she knew that she had Damon to live with.

She had messed up, but, it was going to get better, it was already getting better. She smiled to herself, and pulled the blanket up closer to her face. Bonnie wasn't sleeping beside Damon, but she didn't feel lonely like she had the last few days without him; because she knew she'd be with him soon, sleeping beside him soon. That was all that mattered to her.

* * *

 _Previously, One Hour Ago_

When Damon's lips broke from Bonnie's for the second time, a rumble of thunder caught their attention. They were soaking wet, and at this point could hardly see each other through the pouring rain.

Damon grabbed Bonnie's hand and pulled her quickly through the parking lot and back to the covered sidewalk. She smiled, her eyed glimmering in a way that he hadn't seen in a while.

"Did I mention I'm sorry for being an idiot?" Bonnie asked, breathing a little heavier, tossing her arms back around his neck.

Damon chuckled, there was still a twinge of pain from what had happened with Enzo, but, looking at the woman before him, he felt like the idiot for not trusting her.

"Did I mention I'm sorry for ever doubting you?" he answered her with a question.

She shook her head, "Doubt is part of life, it's normal." she insisted, "You just have to talk to me."

He nodded, agreeing with her.

"Promise me you'll always talk to me?" Bonnie pulled him closer to her, standing on her tip toes.

"I promise." Damon told her with a small smile, "Do you?"

"Yes, always." she smiled even bigger and leaned up further to kiss his lips just once.  
"You should get changed, I don't want you to get sick." he said after a second, his hands on her back.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, pulling away to look into his face.

"That's a myth." she said.

"Humor me then?" Damon smiled sweetly at her, and she grumbled jokingly before unwrapping her arms from him.

"Goodnight, then, I guess." Bonnie said and frowned a bit, but then he leaned down and planted a kiss on her nose and her lips turned back up at the edges.

"Goodnight." he whispered.

They parted ways slowly, and Bonnie walked back to the room. When she opened the door, Caroline wasn't in bed anymore, and she assumed she had actually went to talk with Stefan. For Damon's eyes sake, Bonnie hoped that's all they were doing.

She snickered at the thought of that awkward scene and closed the door behind her. Stripping out of her wet pajamas, bra and underwear, she shuffled through her bag of clothing and put some clean clothing on. Bonnie remembered the motel had a washer and dryer in the vending machine room, and once she'd tied her damp hair up into a ponytail, and pulled some socks on she went padding down the sidewalk again with an armful of her wet clothing.

When she turned into the room, she realized Damon must have had the same idea because he was standing there near the dryer. Except...he was only wearing his boxers.

A laugh came bursting from Bonnie's mouth and the clothing in her arms dropped to the floor. Damon turned around to look at her.

"What are you doing!?" she continued to laugh, her small frame shaking.

"I just thought I'd dry my clothing first and..." Damon trailed off and his face turned a shade of pink.

Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut, practically falling over laughing, and stumbled into the table to the left. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and inhaled deeply, her stomach hurting.

"You..." she laughed once, trying to stop herself, "You can't just... Damon Salvatore there's cameras in here!"

Damon chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to be casual, but the truth was, he was fighting another flush of warmth.

"I'm sure they don't mind the view." he replied.

Bonnie took another breath and finally calmed down enough to grab her clothing off the floor, walk over and past Damon to the dryer, then open it and toss in her clothing with his.

She closed the lid and turned back around to face him.  
Her eyes met his bare torso which was still a little damp and she shook her head.

"You're a child." she commented.

"I beg to differ." Damon said and uncrossed his arms, stepping closer to her.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and when she tried to step forward, he stepped forward and caused her to face plant him in the chest.

She giggled and paced her hands on his shoulder and shoved him away playfully.

"I have a question." she said when he smirked at her.

"No, Bonnie, you cannot ravish me in the laundry room." Damon teased with a low tone, and she laughed.

"Shut up!" Bonnie blushed.

He bit at his lip and crossed his arms again.

"Damnit, now I can't remember!" she sighed and he stepped closer, giving her a wide eyed look.

Bonnie looked away from him for a moment, and still couldn't remember her question. She looked back at him, and watched him move even closer and stick his bottom lip out. Her lips turned up at the edges and she chuckled.

"What?" he asked, faking an innocence.

She shook her head, "Nothing."

Damon raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head to the side. He didn't need to speak to get whatever she was thinking out of her.

"I'm happy." Bonnie told him, "The last few days sucked, horribly, but, right now, I'm really fucking happy."

He smiled, "Yeah, me too."

"I mean..." she sighed, "I still feel weird, about what happened, I wish I could change it, but..."

Damon lifted his hands and cupped her face in both of them.

"You can't. I forgive you, and no, I can't forget, but we are working on things, that's what we are doing here, working on things." he told her.

Bonnie smiled, "Really? You standing mostly naked in the common area and teasing me is working on things?"

He shrugged, "We're on vacation, a break from our lives back in Mystic Falls. Let's make this trip about connecting."

"Finding more happys." she said and he raised his eyebrows.

"Happys?" Damon asked, caressing her face with his thumbs.

Bonnie nodded, and lifted her hands to touch his face as well.

"Things that make us happy. New memories, new happys." she smiled.

He smiled back at her, "Then, yes, new _happys_."

Bonnie leaned upwards and kissed him, her fingers trailed along his jaw. Damon kissed her back gently, his hands moving down from her hands to her hips.

"It's also our first Christmas." he whispered against her lips.

"One of many I hope." she said softly back and her hands moved down to his shoulders.

Damon just looked at her as her eyes trailed down to his chest, to watch her fingers along his skin. Her hands stopped and she could feel his heartbeat underneath her right palm.

"You are mine." he told her, and lifted his hand to touch hers over his heart.

"I am." Bonnie smiled and looked back up at him.

Suddenly there was a presence behind Damon.

"Oh!" Caroline's voice sounded and he turned around to look at her.

Her face was pink as her eyes scanned almost naked Damon, but she quickly looked away and at Bonnie who was trying not to start laughing again.

"Don't pay attention to him." Bonnie told the blonde who swallowed hard.

"Uh..." Caroline inhaled, having lost her train of thought.

"I'll be back in the room, I really want to talk to you." she said quickly, and she seemed a little excited.

Bonnie nodded, "I'll be there."

Caroline nodded and stayed there silent for a second before turning and quickly walking away.

She turned around to look at Damon who chuckled and gave her an apologetic look.

"It's nothing Caroline hasn't seen, she'll be fine." Bonnie blushed a little bit, and scratched behind her ear.

Damon just look at her and shook his head.

"What is it?" she asked after a second.

"I can't get over how adorable you are. No one blushes quiet like you." he confessed.

Bonnie stepped over to him and pushed up onto her toes again.

"No one blushes like you either." she teased him, and for the second time, Damon blushed.

"Alright, go have girl talk, I'll make sure to grab your clothing when the dryer is done." he told her.

She smiled and kissed him, closing her eyes as he kissed her back for a moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Bonnie said and he nodded, giving her cheek a little kiss before she turned around.

She gave her weird, adorable, seductive, crazy husband one last glance before walking out of the door and heading back to the room. When she opened the motel room door, Caroline was sitting on her bed cross legged and with her chin resting in her palm.

Bonnie closed the door behind her and stepped over to sit down on the bed across from Care.

"I saw you went to talk with Stefan." she mentioned, and looked at her curiously.

Caroline nodded and twirled her blonde hair with one of her fingers.

"Well, what happened?" Bonnie asked with a chuckle, scooting closer to her.

"We just talked." she said slowly, lips tugging up at the corners, "I really like him!"

Bonnie smiled, "I can see that."

"I know Matt and I just broke up, and hardly even spoke before then, but, Stefan is so sweet." Caroline gushed, "He's handsome, smart, and actually wants to have a conversation."

"Damon is like that too." she replied.

"And you deserve someone like that." the blonde told her.

Bonnie chuckled, "So do you!"

Caroline blushed a little and looked down, still fiddling with her hair.

"You think so?" she questioned.

"Obviously." she rolled her eyes, "You're my best friend, having you as a sister in law would be amazing."

"Hey! No one said anything about marriage." Caroline said quickly pointing her finger.

"I know, I know!" Bonnie laughed, "But, I didn't think I'd be married three months ago either."

"That's true." she smiled and placed both of her hands in her lap.

Caroline had liked Stefan since he became a constant in her life during the time at the Hospital. While she had felt guilty about her feelings for him then, now she felt excited. She had been with Matt so long, that finally having a new, love interest was refreshing. Not to mention, she'd been sexless for way too long. Caroline was used to have constant sex, or no sex for a long time, and these two extremes were tiring.

"I bought Stefan a gift for Christmas, I mean, I bought all of you a gift, but I'm worried Stefan's is too much." she admitted nervously.

Bonnie raised her eyebrow, "What is it?"

"I can't say, everything needs to be a surprise." Caroline smiled kittenish.

"Well...Alright." she chuckled, "But, you need to stop thinking about Matt. Just have fun with Stefan, we have until the twenty ninth up north, plenty of time to bond."

Caroline nodded, "You're right. Oh, what's up with you and Damon?"

"You mean besides the half naked scene?" Bonnie smirked.

"Damon was half naked? I didn't notice." she replied with an amused look.

Bonnie laughed and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"We kissed." she told her, "...in the rain, soap opera style like you told me."

Caroline squeaked, nearly startling Bonnie.

"Oh, my god!" she giggled, "So, he excepted your apology?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yup, and I really think things are going to get better. We're going to just focus on being happy over this vacation."

"I'm so happy. I could not stand you too being upset with each other, you're my favorite couple ever!" Caroline bounced a little, putting her hands together.

"Chill out!" she laughed, "No need to become the leader of the Bonnie and Damon fan-base."

"I'm almost positive there is already a website dedicated to you guys." she replied casually.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "The nice thing about going up north, is less paparazzi."

"Don't worry, I'll take plenty of photo's." Caroline smiled at her, and Bonnie leaned over, shoving her shoulders gently.

* * *

 _Present_

Bonnie smiled a little, closing her eyes as she grew more tired. She made a mental note to call her father later, and make sure he was actually coming to the cabin for Christmas. But before she could think of anything else, she drifted off to sleep to the sound of the rain tapering off.

In the morning around nine, everyone was getting there bags packed back up in Damon's Camaro. It wasn't raining anymore and the air was chillier than the day before.

"It's your turn to drive Care." Bonnie told her as Damon closed the trunk.

"Then yours." Caroline said and motioned for Damon for the keys.

He tossed her the keys and then opened the passenger side door, and tilted the seat forward so Bonnie could climb in. He climbed in after her and Stefan put the seat back and got in. Caroline got in and once everyone had their seat belts on, they started out of the motel parking lot.

"The roads look bad, can you look at the traffic map?" Caroline asked as they slowly moved down the main road, driving through the few inches of water.

Bonnie pulled her phone out and clicked into her news app and to the map.

"I75 is flooded for several miles, so it's closed off." she told them.

"Okay, so instead of I75, go on I475, it merges onto US23." Damon suggested, and Bonnie looked to make sure those were open.

"That way is a little slower, but he's right." Stefan agreed and Caroline changed the navigation on her phone that was sitting on the dash board.

Bonnie was in the middle seat so she could sit right beside Damon. She ran her fingers along his forearm and when they got to his palm, she threaded her fingers with his. He looked over at her, giving her a small smile.

"You sleep okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, "You?"

"Better than the last few days." Damon replied and squeezed her hand.

Bonnie smiled a little bit, using her other hand to caress the top of his.

Caroline looked at them in the rear view mirror and smiled before shifting her eyes back to the road and pulling onto the highway.

Traffic was heavier than usual with the closed roads. As they got further north, the flooded roads disappeared and it was starting to snow. They passed time by listening to music, playing i spy games and talking about their future plans.

"We're having a New Years party." Stefan said, turned in his seat a little bit so he could look at everyone.

"We have one every year." Damon explained, "And every year, I have to greet people I could not care less about."

Bonnie chuckled, "Are you sure we should still have one, after..." she trailed off, knowing everyone would understand what they meant.

"It's even more a reason to have one. Everyone single person who sucked up to Giuseppe, but was denied will be there to suck up to Damon." Stefan said.

"Right." Caroline said slowly, "They'll see Damon being in charge as a second window to strike a deal."

Damon nodded, "Chances are, my father let go of some good opportunities because of his power grabbing ego, but with the mergers we might lose, taking in new business would be a good idea."

"New business, and mergers means more business trips." Bonnie spoke and bit at her lip a little.

His blue eyes shifted over to her, "Unfortunately."

"However, you can come with me, any chance you get." Damon added, caressing her hand with his thumb.

Bonnie smiled, "All of that is two weeks away anyway."

"Yeah, it is." he said, and just looked at her for a second, before leaning down and kissing her nose, then her cheek, then her lips.

"Instead of a New Years party, why don't we have a celebration for getting rid of Giuseppe." Caroline smirked, "Big ass banner with his face behind bars."

"Caroline!" Bonnie chided, and as the car pulled into the gas station, everyone was laughing.

Caroline pulled the car in front of a gas pump and everyone got out of the car.

"Alright, the men can go inside, get more snacks, and pay for gas." she said at Damon and Stefan.

"What do you want?" Damon asked the women.

"Tea, you know what kind, and Cheetos." Bonnie replied, pulling on her coat as she'd taken it off in the car.

"Lemonade, snickers and forty dollars on pump two." Caroline said.

"Got it." he winked at them and Stefan rolled his eyes, turning his brother around by the shoulder and walking into the gas station with him.

Bonnie smiled and turned around to look at Caroline who was standing near the pump with a hand on her hip. They'd crossed the border into Michigan and only had a few more hours to go.

"I got you something at our last gas station stop." Caroline said and stepped over to her, putting her hands in her coat pockets.

"What?" she asked, leaning against the car.

The blonde pulled a plastic baggy out of her pocket.

"Technically it's two things." Caroline said and tossed the bag to her.

Bonnie untied the knot on the bag and looked inside, her eyes widened. Inside was a box of condoms, and raspberry lubricant.

"Care!" she looked back up, her face flushing.

Caroline blushed a little as well but shrugged.

"I obviously don't know what size condoms Damon...wears.." she cleared her throat, "So, there's three of each size in there, and the lubricant is water proof, warming..should work for any situation."

Bonnie inhaled, and quickly tied the bag back up, shoving it in her coat pocket.

"Did I overstep?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No..." she chuckled breathlessly, "Just wasn't expecting that."

They stood in silence for a minute.

"But, thank you..." Bonnie smiled a little, "If you didn't already get some for you, I'm going to, hope you know that."

Caroline giggled, "Uh, I always have that stuff." she blushed.

"Mhm, sure." she teased her and grabbed her phone out of her other pocket to see a missed text from Rudy.

"I'll be back." Bonnie said and walked away from the car.

She clicked on her fathers message which just asked if they'd made it to the cabin yet, and then clicked on the call button. Holding the phone to her ear, she listened to it ring.  
"Hello?" Rudy answered and she smiled, it was nice to finally talk to him.

"Hey, daddy. I missed your text, we were in a dead spot for a while." Bonnie explained, wandering the parking lot.

"Oh, hey baby girl. I take it you haven't made it then?" he asked.

"No, not yet, we should be there around eight, we have to stop by the grocery store near there to stock the kitchen though." she told him, shoving a hand in her coat pocket.

There was a pause.

"That's good, I wish I could have been there to see that Giuseppe bastard get thrown away." Rudy said with a sigh.

"Me too, but, he's gone now and everything is going to be okay." Bonnie assured him and then looked over at Damon and Stefan who were walking to the car with bags of snacks as Caroline pumped the gas.

"I sure hope so." he chuckled.

"You are going to be at the cabin for Christmas right?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

She could hear someone calling Rudy from a distance.

"Yes, I promise you. I will be there Christmas morning, and no later." he said to her and she smiled, her eyes flickering over to Damon who was walking over to her.

"You better be..." Bonnie smiled wider.

"Who is is?" Damon said quietly as he stopped in front of her.

Bonnie moved the phone away from her mouth, "My dad."

"Can I talk to him?" he asked.

Bonnie chuckled and moved the phone back up.

"Dad, Damon wants to talk to you, do you have time?" she questioned.

"I have a few minutes, put him on." Rudy told her.

"Alright, I love you." Bonnie told him, and when he said it back, she handed the phone to Damon.

She motioned to Damon she'd be at the car and walked away.

"Hey, Mr. Hopkins, how are you?" Damon asked, shoving his free hand into his jeans pocket.

"Damon, it's nice to hear from you. I'm doing alright, Christmas can't come soon enough." Rudy replied.

"I take it you are coming then?" he asked.

"I am, don't worry I know Bonnie will never forgive me if I don't." he chuckled.

Damon smiled a little, "Well, honestly, I am looking forward to seeing you, and I know Bonnie really is."

"I'm looking forward to seeing all of you." Rudy told him, "How are you Damon? I know seeing your father put in prison can't be easy."

"It isn't." he sighed, eyes shifting to the ground, "But, he was never a good man."

"He was your father, though, I'm sure you loved him." he said slowly.

Damon nodded to himself, "I love Bonnie, sir; and I'll go through anything to keep her, my family, our family, safe."

"You're a good man, Damon." Rudy told him, "Be strong, but, not too strong. A man has a family, but, a good mans family has him."

Damon was quiet for a moment, just thinking about what his father in law had said.

"Damon! Come on, we're leaving!" Caroline yelled as it was Bonnie's turn to drive now.

"I hear the cavalry calling for you." Rudy chuckled.

Damon smiled, "Yeah, I better go."

"I'll see you on Christmas, Damon." he said.

"See you, Rudy." Damon spoke before hanging up and head back over to the car.

Bonnie had shoved the plastic back into her purse while Damon had been away, and was now leaning against the driver side door.

"Did my father lecture you?" she asked jokingly.

Damon smirked, "Something like that." he handed her the phone and climbed into the backseat with Stefan.

* * *

Several feet away, Abby's phone rang from it's place on the kitchen counter. She shuffled into the kitchen, tossed off the yellow cleaning gloves and answered the phone without looking to see who it was.

"Hello." she said quickly.

"Abby, it's Rudy." his voice came from the other end.

Her eyes flickered over from the doorframe it was focused on to up and looking at the fridge.

"Oh, Rudy, hi." Abby replied, leaning her hip against the counter.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked her.

She smiled a little, "No, what's going on?"

"I wanted to thank you for being a the trial, I couldn't be there and I know Bonnie probably wasn't very gracious about your presence, but I am grateful." Rudy told her.

"You don't have to thank me. I wanted to be there for her. I feel bad, about my part in what happened to her, I never should have made that deal with Giuseppe." Abby sighed.

"It's over now, there's nothing any of us can do. Everyone being safe again is what matters." he said slowly.

"You're right." she smiled and then brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

"There is a lot that Bonnie doesn't know about me, but I really want to reconnect with her. She's scared, and honestly, Rudy, I am too. I don't want my daughter to hate me more than she already seems too." Abby furrowed her brow.

"She just needs time, she'll come around." Rudy assured her.

Abby smiled, her face relaxing and she took a breath.

"Why don't you need any time?" she asked, "Why are you even talking to me?"

"I got over you years before." Rudy told her, "And, I mean that in the least offensive way possible, Abigail."

Abby chuckled, "I never fully got over you, Rudy; but, I have moved on..."

There was a silence, and then Abby felt a small hand tug on the leg of her pants. She looked down and smiled.

"Listen, I have to go, but thanks for calling." she told him.

"No problem." Rudy said, and then the phone hung up on both ends.

Abby set the phone back on the counter, and knelt downwards.

"You are supposed to be taking a nap." she whispered, and a hazel pair of doe eyes looked into hers.

* * *

Hours later, Bonnie, Damon, Stefan and Caroline had made it to the cabin. It was eight at night and already pitch black outside. Up north in Michigan, was freezing cold at night, at 0 degrees and snow was piled several feet already on the ground, more slowly coming down.

"Hey, no! You need to grab more than one bag." Caroline laughed scolding Stefan as he tried to sneak away from the car.

Stefan smirked and grab more bags before shuffling through the snow.

Bonnie grabbed several bags and tread through the snow, which, with her short legs was difficult. The snow reached past her knee's.

Damon stood on the porch, his bags in his hands and laughed.

"Don't laugh at me!" she grumbled as she made it the porch.

Caroline grabbed her bags and closed the trunk, making her way to them.

"Stefan and I will work on shoveling a path tomorrow." Damon told her as she got to the door.

"What do you mean, 'Stefan and I'?" Stefan asked raising an eyebrow. His brother rolled his eyes at him.

Bonnie shifted the bags into one hand so she could get the keys out of her pocket, and open the door.

She stepped inside and flipped on the first light switch she could find, and the huge living room was lit up by several standing lights. The living room held three couches, and one large coffee table, with room for Christmas tree's, and sitting by the fireplace. A few book cases were also there, as well as a flat screen tv on the wall about the fireplace, this had been added only in the last five years. Other rooms were lead off of the main room, including a hallway. The cabin was as big as the Salvatore house, except only one floor.

"The kitchen is this way." Bonnie told them and lead them into the black and red tile floored kitchen and flipped on the light.

They got all the groceries into the cabinets and fridge, before going back outside to get their luggage.

"This place is gorgeous." Damon commented, as he put his clothing into the first two drawers of the large brown dresser.

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah, I thought it might seem smaller than before, but, it actually still seems massive."  
He chuckled and tossed his empty bag to the side and started to unpack another. Once he was done putting his clothes and other things away in the room and adjoining bathroom, Bonnie put her clothes in the other two drawers and after fifteen minutes, the whole room looked fuller. Things sitting on top of the dresser, the nightstands, the vanity.  
Some things were already there, like books in the bookcase, a few stuffed animals, some words carved into the side of the dresser, done by a preteen Bonnie.

"I missed this place." she said slowly, sitting down on the King sized bed and tapping her socked feet against the wood flooring.

Damon helped her take her coat off and tossed both their coats to the side before sitting beside her.

"That's why I brought you here." he told her and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her. She smiled up at him.

"Thank you." Bonnie whispered, leaning up and pressing her lips against his.

Damon kissed her back, and placed his hand along the side of her face. Just as the kiss grew deeper, Bonnie's stomach growled.

They both laughed and she pulled away.

"Why don't we get our pajamas on, and then get something to eat?" she suggested.

"Sounds good." he smiled and kissed her once before standing up.

A few minutes later, Stefan and Caroline seemed to have the same idea because when Bonnie and Damon walked in, they were already in the kitchen, also in their pajamas.

"I figured we're all probably starving, so I put two pizzas in the oven." Caroline told them, sitting on the counter top.

"Mmm, great." Bonnie said, standing over by the counter as well.

Stefan was by the oven, and Damon moved over behind Bonnie, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"We should all watch netflix together." she suggested, and everyone agreed.

Once the pizza was done, they all grabbed plates and turned the lights off, lighting the fireplace with the firewood that was already in the house, and turned on the TV, connecting to the wifi and searching through netflix.

"Hey that's mine." Bonnie chuckled when Damon stole one of her pepperoni's. He winked and pulled a glob of cheese off his pizza and shoved it into her mouth.

She laughed and chewed her mouth full.

"You two, stop being cute and pick a show." Stefan teased from his place beside Caroline on the other couch.

Bonnie swallowed the food in her mouth and picked the remote back up.

"Oh, Ghost Whisperer." she smiled and clicked onto it.

"Oh no, not some girly show." Damon said shoving her a playfully.

Caroline chuckled, "It's a good show, it's not just sappy romance, there's ghosts."

"Well, obviously." Stefan smirked.

Two hours later, and they were two and half episodes into season one.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Damon asked, looking behind him.

All their plates had been taken to the kitchen and the fire was flickering away.

"The sound of you being a wuss, sure." Stefan said, looking at the TV.

"I'm serious." he said slowly, "I heard something, and it wasn't from the ghost on the TV."

Bonnie snickered when Stefan wiggled his eyebrows at his brother.

"Oh, I see how it is." Damon grumbled, "Sure whatever."

Caroline chuckled, "No, he's right, maybe we should watch something else, a little more happy." she suggested, as she was starting to get a bit spooked herself.

"You mean kid friendly." Stefan said and was rewarded with an elbow to his side.

Bonnie picked up the remote and exited the show, going back to the list.

"Why don't we watch Adventure Time?" Damon suggested and she looked over at him.

"I remember you telling me you liked to watch cartoons every night, but you haven't since the honeymoon." he said quietly, and Bonnie's heart kind of tugged in her chest.

"Sure." she smiled and turned on the show.

Stefan groaned, "When I said kid friendly, I was kidding."

Caroline laughed and leaned against him a little, bit, his attention was immediately shifted to wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders.

Bonnie laid her head on Damon and he clicked play on the show.

Around eleven, everyone was yawning and growing weary of the television, they were hardly able to pay attention, and ended up just chatting with each other every few minutes.

"I'm gonna head to bed." Stefan said as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head.

"Yeah, me too. Well, actually I'm going to go read." Caroline agreed, tossing the afgan off her lap.

"Goodnight guys." Bonnie said sleepily, turning the TV off and tossing the remote away from her.

"Goodnight." they both said at the same time and Damon gave them a little wave before watching the two of them part ways to their rooms on the right side of the house. Damon and Bonnie's room was on the left side, the kitchen, dining room, and living room in the center, with two hallways ln both sides, and a door to the library/game room.

Bonnie made a small noise as she stretched and then pulled her blanket closer to her chin.

"It's nice being here." she whispered, looking into the fire that lit the room with a soft glow, and then scooted over and lead down, resting her head on Damon's lap.

He looked down and smiled a bit.

"It is." he agreed.

Damon caressed her hair, crossing his ankles.

"I remember when I was five, my mom sat me down at that fireplace, and we made smores. Though, Grams said we weren't supposed to, it was too late, but we did anyway." Bonnie spoke, memories running along in her head.

He smiled down at her, "The first time I made smores was at a makeshift bonfire, I wasn't supposed to be at when I was twelve."

"Really?" she chuckled, "You were a trouble maker then?"

"I was. My entire freshman year of high-school was just Grateful Dead t-shirts, very few haircuts and detention." Damon told her.

Bonnie grinned, "Wow, I would have pegged you as one of the leather jacket, smoking outside the school kind of teens."

He shook with a laugh, "Oh, no. Though, now, I am a leather jacket kind of guy, smoking though, nah."

"Have I seen you in a leather jacket?" she asked, "I feel like I only see you in suits, t-shirt and pajamas."

"Do you want to see me in a leather jacket?" Damon inquired.

Bonnie giggled, "In a leather jacket sure, in only a leather jacket... Definitely"

"That was a little cheeky, Bonnie Salvatore." he smirked, still running his fingers along her hair.

"Good." she smiled, and then yawned.

Damon pushed on her face with his finger playfully.

"Maybe we should get to bed, _amore._ " he suggested.

Bonnie grumbled and closed her eyes, nuzzling her face against his stomach, making him twitch a little.

"That tickles." Damon told her and she smiled sleepily.

"You just gonna fall asleep there?" he asked, and when she didn't reply he shook his head.

He leaned down as best as possible and kissed her hair before sitting back up and just letting her lay there.

"I love you." he whispered, brushing her hair behind her ear, and watching her fall asleep on his lap.

* * *

"Woo!" Caroline screamed as she went running violently through the feet of snow on the ground a plastic sled in her left hand.

Bonnie laughed, "Wait up!" she struggled to stomp through the snow.

There was another half foot of snow on the already blanketed ground, with a blizzard warning for the evening, so they decided to have some fun outside while they still could.

Damon tossed his sled over to Stefan and ran up from behind Bonnie, grabbing her by the waist turning her around and pulling her up into his arms.

"Oh no!" Bonnie gasped as she was placed over his shoulder, "Help!" she laughed.

Damon laughed and shuffled through the snow as they worked to get to the edge of the hill where it went downwards.

He tossed her back on her feet and she fell onto her butt, thankfully the snow suits they were all wearing cushioned her if the snow didn't already.

"Don't laugh at me." she frowned, "It's hard to walk when you're dressed like a marshmallow."

Damon smiled and pulled her up off her feet.

Bonnie grabbed her sled and Damon's hand, pulling him further along. Caroline had already sled down once and was slowly making her way back up to the top.

"Hey, wait." Damon chuckled before she set her sled down on the ground, and stepped over to her.

"Your earmuffs are falling off." he tighten the band and then patted her head.

"Thank you!" Bonnie smiled and set her sled on the ground.

He knelt down to hold onto it while she sat down, and then let go of it, giving her a little push.

Bonnie went sliding down the hill quickly, laughing.

Damon got onto his and slid down after her, making it there just a few seconds later.

Caroline came speeding down for the second time at the same time as Stefan.

"Ah!" Caroline laughed as she tumbled over while trying to climb up the snowy hill.

"Need a hand?" Stefan asked and pushed on her butt with one of his hands.

She snorted and whipped a handful of snow around into his face.

Bonnie giggled and grabbed a bunch of snow, and immediately looked at Damon.

"Hey..." Damon narrowed his eyes, "Set the snow down"

"Never!" she tossed the giant snowball at him and it hit him in the neck and chest.

"Well..." he said slowly and leaned down to grab snow for himself, "If it must be that way."

Bonnie's eyes widened, "No!"

Caroline and Stefan were throwing snow at each other a few yards away, laughing.

Bonnie turned around and tried to run up the hill but instead just fell face first into the snow. She quickly rolled over onto her back and tried to get up, but failed miserably. Damon stepped over, snow ball still in his hands.

"I see you've fallen." he replied snarkily, and she glared at him.

Damon knelt down on the ground, straddling Bonnie and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Don't you d-" Bonnie started but the snow was squished into her face and she inhaled sharply brushing it off.

"You're crazy!" she laughed and Damon grinned, leaning down and capturing her lips with his.

Bonnie's arms went up to wrap around his head and she kissed him back deeply, their hot breath creating a fog around their faces.

"Hey! This is a PG only hill!" Stefan called over jokingly, and they both laughed, causing the kiss to break.

"Who are you the PDA police?" Damon said to his brother and stood up, grabbing Bonnie's hand and pulling her up with him.

Bonnie smiled and turned around shuffling over to Caroline and grabbing her hand, climbing back up the hill with her.

Damon walked over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder.

"If you haven't already realized, you need to work on your flirting skills." he teased.

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Me? You just shoved snow in your wife's face."

Damon nodded, "True, but, she's still my _wife_ isn't she?" he smirked and let go of his brother, heading back up the hill.

A bit later, the snow was getting too heavy, and the wind too strong for them to stay outside anymore. They all got inside and pealed off their snow suits, gloves, hats, earmuffs and boots, leaving them by the door.

"Ugh, it's cold!" Bonnie shivered as the door was closed.

"Come here." Damon said and pulled her into his arms, where she nuzzled her cold nose against his chest.

Stefan was already on the couch with a blanket wrapped around himself.

"I'm gonna heat some milk for cocoa, and we can play a game." Bonnie suggested, pulling away from him.

She left into the kitchen, while Caroline and Damon went into the other room to pick a board game.

Twenty minutes later and they were all seated around the coffee table with mugs of hot cocoa, playing LIFE.

"You spun four, you can't go six." Caroline chuckled moving Damon's car back two spaces.

"I thought I went four!" he insisted and picked his card, "Great, car crash!"

Bonnie smiled and spun, as it was her turn.

"Woo! Eight!" she shimmed her shoulders and moved her car eight spaces, and took a card.

"Woah, two kids." Bonnie said, and put two pink girl pegs into her car.

Stefan tapped his fingers on the table, waiting for his turn.

"That's one expensive birth." Damon commented looking at her card and she laughed.

"Says the man, who has a whole car of extra children and we're only half an hour in." Caroline commented and he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I still don't understand how that's possible." Bonnie snickered and gave Caroline a devious look.

Damon eyed them.

"I don't trust you two." he said slowly and scooted a little bit away from Bonnie.

She flushed and lifted her hands to show she wasn't hiding anything, but he still looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"I haven't even gotten married yet." Stefan said, spinning the wheel.

"Don't jinx yourself." Damon told him and knocked on the table twice.

They all laughed and continued playing.

Damon and Stefan especially, hadn't sat down and planned a board game with anyone in a long time. It was nice to just get lost in having fun with people you wanted to be around. Bonnie had missed relaxing as well, and spending time with three people she cared about, was something she really needed after the last few weeks of drama.

By the time the game was over, it was dark outside and Caroline had taken the mugs into the kitchen. They'd have to fight over who was going to do the dishes the next day, because no one was in the mood to do them that night.

"I'm going to watch a movie in my room." Caroline told them, and her eyes flickered over to Stefan.

"Do you.. want to come watch?" she asked with a small smile.

Stefan nodded and stood up from the floor, "Sure."

"Goodnight." Caroline said to Damon and Bonnie, before Stefan followed her out of the living room.

Bonnie instantly gave Damon a look.

"They're watching a movie together." she whispered, "I feel like they'll be together by the end of this trip."

He chuckled, standing up from the floor and extending a hand to help her up as well.

"It's very possible." he told her, raking his fingers through his hair.

"I'm going to get in the shower." Damon told her, and she nodded.

"Alright." Bonnie said and sat down on the couch grabbing her phone.

Damon left the room, and she was there alone.

Bonnie had been thinking about everything they had been through already. It was crazy, but, it seemed to make them stronger. She loved him, so much, and she never thought that would happen. A few months before, she was more worried about being late for class than she was being in love.

She stared into the fire for a few minutes, wondering what her future was going to be like... Bonnie stood from the couch, made her way down the hallway and into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Damon was already in the shower, with the door cracked to let out steam, and the only light in the dark room was from the bathroom.

Bonnie searched through the dimness for her pajamas, and set them down on the bed. She pulled her clothing off, standing there in just her bra and panties, listening to the shower run. It was then, in the stillness of the night, with the sound of the window outside, that she made a decision.

She slowly slid her bra and panties off and walked to the bathroom door. Her skin covered with goosebumps. Bonnie took a breath, and as she pushed the door open to reveal the glass door shower, which was steamed up, her heart started to beat harder in her chest.

"Bonnie?" Damon asked, hearing the door open, and she swallowed.

"Yeah." she replied quietly, wondering if she should just turn around and run back into the other room.

"Everything okay?" he asked, unable to see her through the door of the shower.

"Y-yeah." Bonnie said, her breath a little shallow, and she saw him move his hand to slide the door open and quickly grabbed the nearest towel.

Damon's head peaked out right as she had covered the front of her body with it. His eyes scanned her bare shoulders and he realized she was naked.

"Did you want to join me?" he asked, a little surprised.

Bonnie took another breath, "Yes, actually."

Damon could see she was nervous, because she was clutching the towel to her, and her face was getting a little red. It was amazing too him, how a woman as brave as her, could still get nervous around him, it was one of the things he loved about her.

"I would really like that." he told her soft voiced, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

Bonnie's lips turned up at the edges, and she slowly let the towel fall to the floor. His eyes met her naked body, and it was, to him, more beautiful than he could have imagined. She bit at her lip and slowly made her way to the shower. Damon slid the door open more and she stepped inside. He closed it and stepped back a little, so that she wasn't directly under the water.

The hot water was against her back, causing a slow breath to escape her lips, and her eyes flickered over to Damon, who was glistening wet as he towered above her.

He stepped closer to her, watching as the water soaked into her hair, and he brushed some of it behind her ear.

"You are beautiful." he told her, cupping her face with his hand.

Bonnie lifted a hand, and pressed it to his chest with her fingers splayed out. He lifted his other hand, brushing her hair back, moving her back a step so the water was better covering her hair. After a moment, he reached over, grabbing the shampoo.

"May I?" he asked, and she smiled a little.

"Of course." she replied and turned around.

Damon shampooed her hair slowly, massaging her scalp and running his fingers along her back, shoulders... Afterward her slowly helped her rinse her hair.

"You look a little dirty." Bonnie teased and grabbed the soap, lathering it in her hands and ran her hands along his chest, and shoulders, forearms.

Damon smiled, and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. Bonnie ran her hands up along his neck to his jawline, and looked into his face.

"I'm not done." she whispered, and he pulled her upwards.

"Too bad." he said slowly, and pressed his lips against hers.

Bonnie's soft full breasts pressed against his chest, her soapy hands moving up until her arms were wrapped around his neck. He kissed her deeply, his hands running along her hips, until on of them grasped at her ass. A soft moan came from her lips, against his, and he squeezed, forcing her tighter against his body.

Damon felt her fingers rake into the back of his hair, and he deepened the kiss further, feeling her nipples harden against his skin. Bonnie broke the kiss, exhaling. She knew was this was headed, and, as she looked into his intense blue eyes, she knew she wanted it to go there. Just, not in the shower.

"Getting cold feet?" he asked with a smirk.

Bonnie shook her head, "No... I want to, just, maybe not in the shower."

Damon chuckled and moved his hand back up to her hip.

"Yeah, you're probably right, I'm not that confident in my footing." he told her and she smiled, pressing her lips against his again.

After a few minutes when they'd finished showering, they both decide to get out and dry off. While shower sex was almost everyone fantasy, the truth was sex in a wet place with little traction, wasn't a fantastic idea.

When Bonnie had dried off, she stepped into the bedroom and Damon was standing there, still nude, and her face flushed with warmth.

"Come here." Damon said with an alluring smiling, and she stepped over putting her hands on his chest.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked softly, leaning down and kissing the side of her face.

"Yes." Bonnie said with a smile, "I need to do something first though."

Damon brushed her hair behind her shoulders, "Hurry back."

She kissed his lips once and turned to her bags, pulling the lingerie nightie out of the bag and hurrying into the bathroom. As she pulled on the lingerie, she heard music turn on in the bedroom, and she smiled a little. Both of them had been waiting for this moment, and while neither of them expected it to be that night, it seemed like it was the right night.

Bonnie looked at herself in the mirror, fluffing her damp curls a little and, took a breath. When she opened the door, the room was lit with several candles and Damon was leaning against the end of the bed, in a pair of boxers now.

"I figured, I may as well dress fancy too." he teased, and his eyes shifted along her body.

"Do you like it?" she asked, walking over to him.

Damon smiled, and when she stopped in front of him, he placed his hand on her face.

"You're breathtaking." he whispered and this was the truth. His blue eyes poured into her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I bought it a while ago, just for this." Bonnie told him softly, and he leaned down, kissing her face.

"How am I so lucky?" Damon asked, and started to kiss along her jawline.

His kisses trailed down to her neck, along with his hand on the other side, and she exhaled. His lips were soft, but left hot trails on her skin. Damon kissed the crook of her neck, and slowly along her shoulder. He slid the thin strap to the side and it fell along her arm. Bonnie closed her eyes, her heart beating faster in her chest as his lips pressed against the side of her shoulder, and slowly made their way back to her neck.

He kissed along the front of her neck, along her collar bones, her cleavage, until he made it to the other side of her neck. Her whole body was tingling, and as he kissed her shoulder, she expected him to kiss back to her neck, but suddenly his teeth made contact with her skin.

"Damon..." Bonnie whispered, and his tongue trailed up to her neck.

"Shhh..." Damon hushed her, and one of his hands slid behind her head, tangling his fingers in her hair.  
Their lips met, kissing him deeply, she ran her hand downwards and her fingers brushed against the waistband of his boxers, and then further along the fabric. She could feel his hard length against her hand and a soft sound same from his lips, breaking the kiss.

He responded by sliding his hand down from her hair and along her ass, pulling her closer to him.

Bonnie's thoughts cleared for just a second.

"Wait..." she breathed, opening her eyes, "You need a.. ah, protection."

Damon blinked, his head clearing as well.

"I don't think I have one." he said honestly. He hadn't been expecting this when he packed three days before.

Bonnie cleared her throat and stepped away from him, and over to her purse, pulling out the plastic bag and getting the box of condoms out of it.

"I do..." she said slowly and shook the box.

"Do I want to know?" Damon asked, smirking and pointing at the box.

Bonnie blushed a bit and shook her head.

"But, uhm, there's four sizes." she told him and handed him the box.

"Pretty sure you're gonna need the fourth." Bonnie said slowly, biting at her lip.

"I'd say you're just flattering me, but, no, you're right." Damon grinned crookedly and stepped over to her, kissed her on the lips once more before pulling one of them out of the box.

Bonnie smiled, "Just get it on."

"So, we can get it on?" he wiggled his eyebrow and she giggled, shoving him by the shoulder.

As he put the condom on, she walked over and locked the bedroom door, and turned the music up a little bit more. She had expected this too be a lot more serious, intense, but, she wasn't so nervous anymore, and somehow, they were able to laugh, joke with each other, even during this.

When she got back over, Damon was naked, and he pulled her back into his arms quickly.

"I know, you just put this on, but, I'm afraid if I don't take it off you now, it'll get ripped later." he said to her, running his fingers along the fabric of her lingerie.

"Then you better take it off me." Bonnie said with a devious smile.

Damon pulled the garment up and over her head, tossing it to the floor. He took several steps backwards, sitting down on the bed, and pulling her with him.

Bonnie rolled onto the bed, and he moved over to her, pulling her closer by her hips and wiggling the blanket over top of them half way.

She pressed her lips to his, her breasts pressed again his chest again. Shivering when his finger tips trailed along her thigh, she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and bit it softly. Damon moaned, sliding his hand in between her thighs, feeling the wet warmth there against his palm. His lip popped out of her mouth and he flicked his tongue along her lips. Bonnie inhaled as his thumb found her clit, and she was reminded how much she missed him as he rubbed there slowly.

"Ohh." she exhaled, leaning her head back a bit.

Damon applied more pressure there, leaning his head down and kissing along her breast. His lips found their way to her nipple, and he circled his tongue around it several times, feeling it harden further.  
He rubbed her clit faster, feeling her get wetter and her hips started to get restless, grinding against his motions and Bonnie moans.

He moved his head back upwards and kissed along her face, making his way to her ear.

"Come for me." he told her, his breath hot against her skin.

Bonnie moaned again, moving her hips faster, and he grinned against her ear.

"Oh, god." she breathed, and he could feel the muscles in her thighs tighten as she came.

However, even after she came, her hips didn't stop moving, as if they were begging him for more.

"Don't stop." Bonnie moaned, her hand tightening in his hair, and he grunted a little, his own arousal pulsing.

He continued to rub at her hard, wet clit, until she was shaking a little, so close to coming. Then he pulled his hand away from her.

"I need you." he growled into her ear.

Bonnie, without default, pushed him over onto his back and straddled his lap. Damon used his hand to guide himself, and his cock slid inside of her. Bonnie moaned, his hands grabbing at her hips and she started to ride him. He was full inside of her tight walls and she moved her hips quickly, the interrupted orgasm from before rushed to the surface and he could feel her tighten even more.

"Fuck." he moaned, pulling her hips down harder.

She came for a second time, continuing to bounce on top of him, her breasts moving along with her.

"Oh, fuck me." Bonnie moaned, grinding faster, her body aching to have as much of him as possible.

Damon grabbed her and leaned her down, her face against his shoulder. He grabbed her ass with both hands and started to thrust his hips harder, faster. Bonnie moaned into his neck.

"Ohh, Damon." she breathed, her hands grasping as his shoulders, his hair, the pillows.

He moaned, fucking her even faster until her moans became a incoherent, vibrating babble. His hands grabbing her ass tightly.

Bonnie came for a third time, sweat pouring along her skin, mixing with his. He slowed down to almost a halt, breathing heavily.

Damon wasn't done, however. He slowly rolled them over, and repositioned himself between her thighs. Leaning down, he kissed her shoulder, and slid back inside of her. This time he moved slowly, his hands ran along her body.

Bonnie breathed outwards and opened her eyes, her hands searching for his face.

Their lips met, sticking to each other each time they pulled away, urging them to come back.

"I want to make love to you, for the rest of my life." Damon whispered.

He had never liked the term 'make love' and it was now that he realized that was because he had never experienced it. But, Bonnie... Oh, god, Bonnie. He never wanted to let her go.

"I love you, Damon." Bonnie moaned quietly, grinding her hips along with his slow rhythm.

"I love you too, baby." Damon told her, their bodies melting into each others.

He bit at her lip, and then her cheek, making his way to her neck.

Bonnie bit at her own lip when he sucked on her neck, biting at the skin there. She exhaled, her eye lids fluttered as he sped up his hips just a tad. Damon let go of the skin on her neck from his teeth, and kissed the spot he had marked.

She tangled her fingers in his dark, damp hair and pulled his face back up to hers. As Bonnie tightened her thighs on him, Damon closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers...

* * *

Please **_leave a review_**!


	26. The Holiday Brings

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to leave a review.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 25 -** The Holiday Brings_

 **CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT**

Bonnie and Damon had fallen asleep in the warm air that sounded them, ending their late night. When Bonnie's eyelids fluttered open hours later, she was tangled in the sheet from her ankles to her waist. Her thoughts were foggy, but once her vision cleared she smiled a small smile, and her eyes flickered over to Damon. What was remaining of the sheet was covering a very small portion of his lower half; if she moved any more to the left, he wouldn't be covered by anything at all.

She wondered why there blanket had gone, and then remembered that it fell off the bed when they'd gotten too hot. She laughed quietly. Bonnie's chest was practically swelling with happiness, and she hoped Damon felt the same way. The air around them was cool now, cold almost, and the dull sunlight struggled to shine through the curtains. She reached down, fixing the sheet where it was covering both of them. Not a second later, Damon who was lying on his side beside her, tossed his arm over her bare chest. His forearm was warm against her skin and she hummed, scooting closer to him.

"I didn't know you were awake." she whispered, closing her eyes.

A soft sound came from Damon's throat and he leaned in, nuzzling his face against her hair and ear.

"Mio amore, la mia dolce, il mio tutto." he said huskily.

Bonnie smiled, her hand moving up to touch his forearm.

"Tu sei il sole, la luna, le stelle, mia cara." Damon continued, "Voglio assaggiare voi e piu e piu volte, fino alla fine dei tempi."

Her eyes opened and she looked at him amused.

"Damon." Bonnie whispered.

"Che, Bonnie?" he asked.

"You're not speaking English." she chuckled.

Damon's face was still pressed against her head, "Non sono?"

Bonnie giggled, and then his head lifted up and he blinked.

"Oh, sorry." he blushed and she lifted her finger tips to touch his face.

"I would love to know what you said." she smiled.

Damon smirked at her, "I bet you would."

"Mhm, do you?" Bonnie asked, his face moving closer to hers.

He nodded and she felt his breath against her lips before his touched them. Her eyes closer and she kissed him back softly, feeling his arm move up off of her, and his hand slide to her side.

"Last night was great." she told him when the kiss broke, and he brushed her hair behind her ear slowly.

"Yes it was." Damon replied, his blue eyes pouring into her face.

Bonnie reached up and caressed soft tufts of his black hair for a moment.

"I need to go shower." she said, wiggling her toes against the sheet.

Damon moved off of her so she could sit up.

"Want me to join you?" he asked propped up with his elbow.

She had slid out of bed and was walking slowly over to get some clothing.

"I would never get clean, so, you're gonna have to sit this one out." Bonnie chuckled.

"Okay." Damon said and laid back down.

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him with an armful of clothing.

"I'm still tired anyway." he yawned and tossed her pillow over his face.

Bonnie smiled at her husband and headed into the bathroom. In the shower she washed away any sweat, but the memories from the night were still running around in her head, and the small red marks that were scattered from her neck, down her chest, to her hips and thighs were pleasant visual reminders. Damon's enjoyment of having her skin in his mouth was something she was starting to adore.

She wasn't sure how long she was in the shower, she'd gotten distracted with her memories, and just stood there, staring into the wall with a curve on her lips. But, once the shower was done, she emerged back into the bedroom in leggings and a sweater.

Damon was standing up beside the bed, having put on sweat pants and was about to put on his t-shirt. But Bonnie rushed over and crashed into him, tackling him to the bed.

He inhaled sharply, startled.

Bonnie giggled lying on top of him and pressing her hands to his chest.

"I never said you were allowed to leave the bed." she told him.

"Oh, now you're the boss of me?" Damon asked playfully.

Bonnie smiled and kissed his chest before scooting upwards and resting her head on her shoulder, cuddling him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I wonder if Caroline and Stefan are up." she said quietly.

"It's possible, it is a quarter to ten." he replies, running his fingers along her back.

Bonnie closed her eyes and felt his heart beat underneath her right hand.

"Do you think they'd miss us if we stayed in here all day?" she asked, and a low chuckle came from him.

"They might. Besides we have to eat at some point." Damon said, touching her face with his free hand.

She pouted her lip out and opened her eyes, staring up at him. He copied her, his wide blue eyes glistening. She broke and giggled, her eyes trailing down his his hand that was along her chin.

"Huh." Bonnie mumbled, noticing the ring on his middle finger. It was large gadfly, lapis and silver. I D was engraved along the top.

"Have you always worn that ring?" she asked, sliding her fingers along his, first touching his wedding back on the ring finger, than the other ring.

Damon's eyes flickered down to his ring.

"Oh, it's a family ring, we all have one." he explained, "I never really used to wear mine however, out of spite for Giuseppe."

Bonnie tilted her head curiously.

"But, I decided I should probably put that behind me." Damon added.

"Well, I like it." she told him, and his lips turned up at the corners, "It's very vintage."

He chuckled, "In looks sure, in reality, it was made eight years ago."

Bonnie shrugged and sat up, still sitting on him and stretched her arms above her head.

"Mmm, you know being in between your thighs is making me wonder if we should stay in here all day." Damon said lowly.

She bit at her lip, face warming up and rolled her hips forward once.

Damon grunted, "Now you're teasing me."

Bonnie giggled and rolled off of him, getting up out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she made her way over to the door.

"To get us something to eat, is that alright Mr. Salvatore?" she smirked, and he gave her a kittenish look.

"Yes, Mrs. Salvatore." Damon replied.

Bonnie winked at him and opened the door, taking her way down the hallway, through the center room and into the kitchen. No one else was in either room, and no fresh coffee had been made yet. A few minutes later she walked back into the bedroom with a large bowl, a carton of orange juice and a can of whip cream.

"Some interesting choices you have there." he mused and sat up in bed as she climbed back in and sat cris-cross.

Bonnie set the bowl in between them. It was full of assorted fruit; strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, and raspberries.

"Normally I would ask where the real food is but, you're too sweet." Damon teased her and she rolled her eyes.

"You know I can't cook." she reminded him.

"Fair enough. Besides..." he started and picked up a strawberry holding it to her mouth, "If you could cook what good would I be?"

Bonnie smiled at him, "I can think of a few things."

"Yeah?" Damon smirked at her as she took a bite of the fruit and nodded.

"You can clean." she teased him.

"How feminist of me." he chuckled and popped fruit into his mouth.

Bonnie shook the can of whip cream, "Ironic because your father was the icon of misogyny"

"Giuseppe for President." Damon smirked, " Now that would be frightening."

"Oh, oh." Bonnie wiggled her eyebrows, "Let me guess, he's Republican."

Damon snap his fingers at her, "Correct."

She laughed and shook her head taking the cap off the whipped cream.

"I am a Democrat however." he told her tossing a raspberry in his mouth.

"I don't know how we got on politics but, that makes sense." Bonnie chuckled.

"You are too, I know it." he smirked.

"How is that?" she questioned, looking down at the strawberry in her hand as she swirled the whip cream on it.

"You're independent, strong, brave, honest, and trusting." Damon said like it was obvious.

Bonnie shoved the strawberry in her mouth, making her cheeks puffy.

"Okay, so, you're right." she said with her mouth full, and Damon snickered.

He reached over and wiped at the corners of her mouth with his thumb.

"What were we talking about before we got on political parties?" she asked swallowing.

"I have no idea, but you're adorable." he replied, licking his thumb.

Bonnie smiled. For the first time in her life, she was with someone she didn't feel forced with. Talking with Damon came naturally, and somehow they could go from topic to topic happily, going from something intense to something sweet, to something serious or important. Their ability to communicate was something they both had desperately needed for most of the lives. Damon was never able to talk to his parents, Bonnie was without her own mother and while she could talk to Caroline about anything, the strength of her and Damon's bond would never compare to any other bond either of them had with anyone else. They could not love another person, the way they loved each other.

"I love you." Bonnie told him.

"I love you too." Damon smiled back at her, and she picked up some fruit and tried to shove it in his mouth, some of it falling onto his lap.

He laughed and looked at her surprised, "What are y-"

Suddenly Bonnie reached over and sprayed the whip cream into his mouth. Damon swallowed and pulled her over to him quickly, the bowl almost tipping over. He grabbed the whip cream from her and pinned her too him with his free arm. He sprayed it into her mouth, and watched as she laughed, struggling to keep it in her mouth. He then sprayed it along her face and she squealed.

"Damon!" she inhaled deeply after swallowing.

Damon kicked the whip cream off her face and she kicked her feet laughing, snatching it from him and sprayed it blindly onto his face.

Ten minutes later, the fruit was gone, some of it on the floor, the whip cream was gone and their faces and hands were sticky.

"We made a mess." Bonnie giggled getting off the bed to pick some fruit off the floor and toss it into the bowl.

"You started it." he stuck his tongue out at her.

She rolled her eyes and set the bowl on the bed. After they got their faces and hands cleaned, Damon put on a shirt and they headed out of the bedroom.

"It's a good thing we didn't have syrup." Bonnie said as they walked down the hallway.

"Say's you." Damon winked at her, and when they got into the living room her face was pink.

"Hey, you're up." Caroline said from the couch with a mug of coffee.

Bonnie smiled, holding the bowl and empty whip cream, "Yeah we've been up."

Stefan eyed them, and smiled a small smile from his place beside Caroline, "Well, there's coffee in the kitchen."

"Okay." she said and walked quickly through the room into the kitchen with Damon following behind her.

Damon chuckled as she threw the can away and put the bowl in the sink.

"Why do you look so embarrassed?" he whispered, stepping closer to her.

"Do you think they heard us last night?" Bonnie asked turning to face him.

"I don't know, but, I also don't care." Damon replied, placing his hands on her waist.

She smiled a little, "Yeah I guess it doesn't matter."

She stepped closer and rested her forehead against his chest. Bonnie wished they could stay pressed up against each other for the entire week. But, alas, they had Caroline and Stefan to spend time with too.

Damon tilted her head upwards by her chin and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. She placed one of her hands along the side of his face, kissing him back. Their kiss broke slowly, as though their lips didn't want to be apart.

"Would you like some coffee, my love?" he asked her.

"Yes, please." Bonnie said with a small smile.

Damon fixed them both mugs of coffee and carried them out to the living room, setting them on the coffee table.

"So, how did you guys sleep?" she asked Caroline and Stefan as she wandered the living room, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Good." they both said one after another.

Bonnie smiled, "I see. That's nice."

Damon held back a small chuckle as he sat down in one of the chair adjacent to the couch.

"Has anyone looked outside yet? That blizzard was supposed to be rough." Bonnie mused, as she walked over to the window.

"We have food inside that's all I care about." Caroline yawned, sipping at her coffee.

Bonnie pushed the thick curtains aside.

"Holy crap." she blinked, "Uh, there's snow, up half the window."

"That would mean we have like ten feet of snow, Bonnie." Stefan said with a chuckle.

She rolled her eyes and turned around, "I am not kidding."

"See." Bonnie pulled the curtain to the side even more.

"Damn." Damon mumbled, "I guess we're not going outside anytime soon."

She let the curtain go and walked back over.

"I'll call for a snow plow." she told them and sat herself right on Damon's lap, grabbing their coffees and handing his to him.

Damon wrapped his free arm around her, looking up at her curly hair that was still a little damp and brushing against chest. He exhaled, trying to get the thoughts currently circling in his head to disappear. Needless to say, he was still in a bit of an amorous mood. His ears turned out the words going on around him, and his eyes flickered over to watch Bonnie call the snow plow, focused on her pink tinted lips and her long eyelashes.

"Okay, it is going to be a day or two before they can get a plow out here," she told them and Caroline grumbled.

"I thought you didn't care about the outside?" Stefan asked her with a cheeky smile.

Caroline brushed a lock of her messy blonde hair behind her ear.

"I don't, at the moment..." she started, "I did want to go sledding again later though."

"We'll just have to find other things to do until the plow gets here." Bonnie said sipping at her coffee.

She could feel Damon's fingers press harder against her stomach, pulling her just a little closer, and she knew very well what 'things' he had in mind for them.

Bonnie tried to hide her small smile with her mug and resisted the urge to sway her ass against his lap.

They all sit there, drinking coffee, trying to think of something to do.

Suddenly Bonnie remembered ballet. She was still trying to get back into the hang of it, but Caroline was still going to Whitmore, and hadn't been saying much about it lately.

"Caroline, weren't you supposed to be in the Christmas ballet?" she asked the blonde who blinked and tapped hr fingers on her mug.

"Uhh yeah." Caroline told her, "But, I was getting times of Bayes, and kind of dropped out of her class, I have to wait till after New Years to get put into a new group."

Bonnie furrowed her brow, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, you are still trying to get back to dancing like you used to, and I didn't want to worry you about me." she said slowly.

"You should've told me." Bonnie frowned.

"I will tell you from now on, I swear." Caroline said quickly, and Damon chuckled.

"Bonnie still hasn't figured out what exactly she wants to do, so, both of you are in a bit of a spot." he reminded them.

"That's true... But, I can practicing ballet still, I am going to get back on point and practice more soon." she told them.

Caroline smiled, "I do miss seeing you dance, you were always one of the best dancers in Bayes group."

Bonnie flushed and took the last drink of her coffee. Dancing was one of her passions, her others? Well, she wasn't entirely sure. She'd been writing in her journal every so often, and she really liked it, but, ballet was the only thing she'd done for a long time. Maybe that was one reason Bonnie was hesitant about deciding what to do, she didn't want to waste time doing something she wasn't positive she wanted to do.

"I have an idea about what we can do." Caroline said after a second, and Bonnie's eyes flashed over to her.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Let's play truth or dare." the blonde smiled, and both grown men made sounds of disapproval.

Bonnie licked at her lips, "Okay, I dare you to kiss Stefan."

Caroline's face turned pink, "That's not how it works, we have to decide who asks first."

Stefan had a small smile on his face, "I'll go first."

Damon chuckled and motioned at him to pick someone.

"Wait, we have to get on the floor." Caroline said, setting off the couch and sitting down at the coffee table.

Everyone did the same, Damon on Caroline's side of the table, Bonnie on Stefan's.

"Okay, Bonnie truth or dare?" Stefan asked, leaning his elbows on the able.

"Truth." Bonnie replied.

"What is your favorite thing about my brother?" he questioned.

She smiled a little, "Ah, it's kind of hard to pick one thing. I guess his kindness."

"I would've said ass." Caroline said casually.

"Caroline!" Bonnie laughed and tossed a couch pillow at her.

"What your husbands got a nice ass." she teased and her eyes flickered over to Stefan, "He's not the only one."

Stefan's face flushed and Damon held back a laugh.

"Oh my god." Bonnie inhaled, "Uh, okay Damon, truth or dare?"

"Truth." he said and she rolled her eyes.

She tapped her fingers on the table trying to figure out what to ask him. There had to be a lot of things they still didn't know about each other. The trouble was figuring out what she wanted to know.

"Oh." she smiled, "I have always wondered why you drive that old Camaro instead of having new fancy car."

Damon chuckled, "Well, of course I could afford a 'fancy car', but, our Uncle Zach gave me the Camaro when I was seventeen, he didn't really trust me not to wreck a new car."

"You've taken good care of it." Bonnie told him, resting her chin in her palm.

"I have, do you not like it?" he asked curiously.

She blinked, "No, of course, I love it."

Damon smiled back at her and then his eyes flickered over to Caroline.

"Alright blondie, truth or dare?" he questioned.

"Dare." Caroline replied and instantly regeted it after seeing him smirk.

"I dare you, to kiss Stefan." he said and Bonnie hopped a little shooting him a grin.

"Wait truth!" the blond said quickly and Damon shook his head.

"Not how it works!" he chuckled.

Stefan chuckled nervously, "Uh, she doesn't have to kiss me."

Caroline pursed her lips and took a breath.

"I mean, it wouldn't hurt anything." she said slowly.

Bonnie was watching the space between Caroline and Stefan with her hands squeezing her face.

"But if you don't..." Stefan started but then Caroline brushed her hair behind one shoulder, reached across grabbed the front of Stefan's shirt, and leaned up and over the table.

Her lips pressed against his, and his hand went to her face. Bonnie squealed like a teenager when their faces parted and Caroline sat back down.

"Oh my god." Bonnie giggled and rocked back and forth a little embarrassingly excited.

Damon gave his wife a amused look and winked at her. He knew how much she wanted Caroline and Stefan together, even if she tried to be casual about it. Not to mention, Stefan needed someone like Caroline in his life, she seemed bright, like Bonnie. The Salvatores had always been in need of brightness.

Both Stefan and Caroline were a little pink faced.

"Alright." Stefan cleared his throat, "Caroline's turn to pick."

The game of truth or dare only went on another ten or fifteen minutes before they all grew tired of trying to find interesting things to ask or dare someone to do. None of them had spent time away from the cities and restaurants in a while. While they could just sit around and watch netflix, it seemed wrong to do that all the time especially when they were in a cozy cabin, celebrating the holidays. So, thankfully, there were dozens of board games and they went through five of them by the time the evening came. Though, two of them may have ended with someone flipping the board over before anyone could win for certain.

"I am going to take a shower, if I have to watch Damon bleed me dry of Cheetos one more time, I am never going to play poker again." Stefan said with a chuckle as he tossed his cards on the coffee table.

"Sore loser." Damon teased him.

"Why don't you go shower too." Bonnie suggested standing up from the floor and stretching her arms above her head.

Damon looked at her curiously and she looked to the side in the direction of Caroline, then back at him. He got the clue that she wanted time along with her friend, and stepped over to her, kissing Bonnie on the forehead.

"Don't gossip." he whispered playfully and she smiled, watching both men disappear on opposite sides of the house.

Bonnie turned around and sat down on the couch beside Caroline, facing her sideways.

"Clearly you want to talk to me." Caroline chuckled scooting closer to her.

"I'm just really happy." she told her, "Really, really, happy."

"You should be. You and Damon are doing good as far as I can see." Caroline smiled, tilting her head to the side.

"Things are good, like, really good." Bonnie replied, her lips tugging up at the corners no matter how hard she tried to keep her calm.

The blond eyed her.

"Wait..." she started, "..just sweet cuddly good, or, naked and sweaty good?"

Bonnie's face warmed and she bit at her lip.

"The second." she replied rocking forward once.

"Ahh!" Caroline gasped and bounced flailing her hands at her best friend, "I need to know _everything._ "

Bonnie laughed and grabbed at her friends hands trying to calm her, "Shhh!"

"How was it? How was he? How long did it last?" she asked, then gasped, "Top or bottom, oh my god... Is he-"

"Caroline!" Bonnie shook her, "Calm down!"

Bonnie had never seen her best friend so excited about one of her relationships, though she'd only been in two serious relationships since meeting Caroline.

"I have been waiting for this to happen, you and Damon are the best couple I know, how you met is amazing, your whole story the last few months is amazing, so please, for the love of God Bonnie tell me how it was." Caroline said with wide eyes.

Bonnie chuckled, "It was... breathtaking." she said slowly, "...amazing. I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how perfect it was, how perfect Damon is."

Caroline grinned and bounced a bit.

"I have never felt so many sensations at the same time in my entire life." Bonnie continued, "He's so passionate; and, not just rough passionate, but gentle, intense. I felt like we were one hot, melting caramel of love."

"...caramel of love..." Care snorted and leaned forward snickering with her eyes squeezed shut.

Bonnie laughed and pushed at her friend gently.

"Don't make fun of me. I didn't make fun of you about your kiss with Stefan." she reminded her.

Caroline's face flushed, "Oh yeah, that's for that."

"Are you sure you to hadn't kissed before then? There was some chemistry there." Bonnie asked with a smirk.

"No! We didn't, I swear." she replied brushing her hair out of her face.

"You two are really cute though." Bonnie tilted her head to the side.

Caroline smiled a small smile and her eyes flickered down to look at her lap, "I know."

When Damon walked out into the living room a bit later with damp hair, wearing his pajamas, he could hear the women giggling.

"What could you two be talking about?" he asked walking over to them, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing." Bonnie said biting at her lip and hopped up from her seat.

She stepped over, stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his softly.

"I'm going to make us something to eat." she said, and he eyed her face with a crooked grin.

"Mhm." Damon mumbled and kissed her back once before she left the room.

Once she was gone, Stefan still wasn't out there, so it was just him and Caroline. They had never been alone together that often. Even at the hospital, there was always more than two people in the room; and Damon had been in a rough place, hardly talking to anyone as it was. So, they just looked at each other silently for a moment.

"You can talk to me you know." Caroline said after a second, looking at him amused.

"Oh, yeah, I know." he chuckled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pajama pants.

After a second he stepped over and sat down beside her.

"You know, we don't really know each other, other then what I'm sure Bonnie tells you about me." Damon mentioned.

She nodded, "That's true, she does talk about you a lot." she smiled, "Does we talk about me a lot?"

"Probably not as much as she talks about me." he said honestly, folding his arms.

Caroline smiled, "You just distract her, she's really happy to be with you, you know."

"I'm happy to be with her too." Damon replied, listening to things clank around in the kitchen.

"Good, because my words at your wedding still apply." she reminded him with a playfully stern face.

"You'll kill me if I hurt her." he chuckled, "I remember... She's lucky to have a friend like you."

Caroline nodded slowly, "I'm lucky to have her as a friend; and, you know, I am your friend too."

"We just haven't spoken much, which is interesting because my brother seems to never stop talking to you." Damon teased her, watching her face flush pink.

"I'm not going to get into Stefan... But, I do want to talk to you more. I just wasn't sure if Bonnie would be alright with us hanging out." she admitted, "Especially after the whole...Enzo thing."

Damon blinked, having been trying to block the memory of the man he loved as a best friend betraying him out of his head completely. But, it was harder than he had hoped.

He cleared his throat, "Yeah, that's true."

Bonnie wandered out after putting something into the oven.

"Look at you two, having a conversation." she wiggled her eyebrows and leaned against the arm of the couch.

"We were talking about how we don't know each other that well, how we never hang out." Caroline told her, leaning her elbow against the ouch.

Bonnie's eyebrows raised, "Oh, well, maybe you two should hangout sometime."

"Really?" Damon asked her.

"Yeah, of course. We're all friends, I trust you guys." she said with a smile, and left the thought out about how Caroline could very possibly be Damon's sister in law in the near future anyway.

He smiled back at her. Damon was wary, he had trusted Enzo. However, if there was one thing he knew about Bonnie, was that if she had even an inkling that Caroline felt romantically for him, she would have brought it up. Damon had made a mistake not telling Bonnie about Enzo early on. He trusted Enzo, which wasn't the mistake, his mistake was not making it clear to Enzo that he needed to make the right choices or he couldn't be around Bonnie.

"I have a question for both of you." Bonnie told them.

They both looked at her curiously.

"Do you think my father is actually going to show up on the 25th?" she questioned.

"Uh, well, he said he is coming, I think he will." Caroline replied trying to reassure her.

Damon nodded a little, "I'm sure he'll be here."

Bonnie stood back up straight, "I hope so."

"I'm getting a little tired of feeling low on his list of priorities, honestly." she sighed, and Damon lifted his hand and touched the side of her arm.

"Maybe you should talk to him about that." he suggested.

She nodded and stood silent for a second.

"Better go check on the oven." Bonnie said and turned around, heading back into the kitchen.

Bonnie stood by the oven after checking on the food, thinking. For some reason her father was on her mind. Maybe it was the family like bonding they were all doing, and the holiday creeping closer; but, she wished he was around more. Even when he wasn't on tour, he was always doing something, and she felt like, though he loved her, she could put in more effort to be a part of her life. Not just him, everyone. Bonnie was beginning to realize that Abby was trying harder to be in her life than Rudy was. She wasn't ready to forgive and forget with her mother yet, but she had to give the woman some credit for trying.

"Need any help?" Stefan's voice came from the doorway, and she looked up from the floor, a little startled.

"Oh, Stefan, uh, not really." she said looking at him.

Stefan smiled and stepped over to her, standing a few feet away.

"Sorry if I scared you. Caroline and Damon are talking in the living room, I didn't want to bother them." he told her, and she nodded.

"It's okay, you're welcome to stay in here with me." Bonnie smiled kindly at him.

"Thanks." Stefan said , stepping over and leaning against the fridge.

Bonnie put her hands on the counter behind her, pushing her self upwards and sitting.

"So, it's painfully obvious you like Caroline." she mentioned.

"Is it?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

Bonnie thought it was cute, that Stefan was nervous. Damon was different in that respect most of the time. Damon was blunt, outspoken, when he wanted something he was clear about it. Stefan was younger, skinnier, less experienced, but sweet and honest none the less. Caroline was blunt, extroverted and also was good at getting what she wanted, like Damon. Bonnie thought this was probably the reason Stefan and Caroline liked each other, much like her and Damon, they added something to the others personality.

Caroline made Stefan braver, Stefan made Caroline shy.

"It is, and if it helps, I approve one hundred percent. I know Damon does too." Bonnie tapped her feet against the cabinets.

"I don't think I asked for your approval." Stefan teased.

She rolled her eyes and tossed a hot pad at him, it landed on his shoulder and he tossed it back at her.

Bonnie was silent for a second, fiddling with the hot pad.

"Can I ask you something Stefan?" she looked over at him, he nodded.

"Isn't it weird for you that your mother isn't here?" she questioned.

Stefan pursed his lips, "I suppose. Damon and I are used to it, though."

"I feel bad that none of us invited Lily; even if she wouldn't have wanted to come." Bonnie admitted, furrowing her brow.

"Maybe you're right." he replied quietly, " It isn't normal to be so distant from your family."

She nodded and after a second hopped off the counter.

"At least we're here together though." Bonnie smiled, and he smiled back at her.

"Yeah, at least we're here."

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

It was three days until Christmas, the days going by faster than anyone noticed. Drinking their weight in hot cocoa, the group was over their heads in board games and snow. For the first time in a while, they were all happy, all relaxed, and when they could, pretended there wasn't anything else going on in their lives, or the world.

"Shhh!" Bonnie giggled as she hurried through the house with Caroline.

They were playing hide and seek if you can believe it, and though Damon thought it was a bit childish, he was the seeker.

"We can't hide in the same place!" Caroline told her and before Bonnie could do anything, she had disappeared from her site.

Bonnie stopped, standing barefoot in her pajamas, looking around. She could hear the floor creak right after a echoed "Here I come." came from Damon.

She turned around and scrabbled through the house trying to find somewhere to hide. When she was little, there seemed to be a lot more hiding places. Thankfully, Bonnie was still short as hell, and could fit in places the rest of them couldn't. Unpretentiously, she had about two seconds to hide.

Bonnie rushed into one of the empty closets on the right side of the house and put her hands on her mouth as she stood in the darkness.

She was there for a good five, maybe six minutes when she heard footsteps along the floor somewhere around her. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe quietly.  
However, the darkness in front of her eyelids grew lighter and she knew the door had been opened.

"Closing your eyes doesn't mean you're invisible." Damon's voice came from the door.

"Damnit." Bonnie mumbled and opened her eyes.

"Found you." he grinned at her and grabbed her hand trying to pull her out of the closet.

Bonnie pulled back at him, pulling him into the closet half way.

"How many times did you know where Caroline and Stefan were hiding but by passed them so you could find me first?" she asked tilted her head to the side.

"None." Damon smirked.

"Mhm." Bonnie giggled and he took a step forward, backing her against one of the walls.

"Got a problem?" he teased quiet voiced.

She bit at her lip, "Not at all."

Damon placed his hands along her waist, and she stood up on her tip toes. She pressed her lips to his and hooked one of her arms around his neck. He kissed her back, lips warm against hers, and gripped at her body tightly. Their kiss grew deeper, and Damon pinned Bonnie up against the wall with his body.  
He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and bit it, harder than usual, invoking a small whimper and her body rolled against his.

There was foot steps in the room, but they continued kissing until suddenly they could see Stefan and Caroline standing several feet from the closer.

"Have Damon be the seeker, you said. It'll be fine, you said." Caroline said giving Stefan and look.

Bonnie and Damon broke apart, breathing a little heavily.

"Sorry." Bonnie blushed and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I guess Bonnie's it now." Stefan chuckled, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

Damon grabbed Bonnie's hand and pulled her out of the closer with him.

"Yeah, about that." he started, "We're going to have to decline."

"What do you mean you're going to have to de-" Caroline was asking but Damon was already hurrying Bonnie out of the room.

Bonnie laughed as she was pulled through the house, across the main room and down the hallway.

Damon picked her up off her feet into his arms bridal style, shoved the slightly open bedroom door open the rest of the way with his foot, and tossed her onto the bed.

"Ah!" Bonnie gasped, bouncing a little, lying on her back, and she propped herself up with her elbows, legs open.

"You had no intention of playing hide and seek past finding me, did you?" she asked, and watched Damon close and lock the bedroom door, wasting no time to take his t-shirt off and rush over to the bed.

"You know me well." he grinned at her.

Damon crawled onto the bed, hovering above her and she pulled him down to her, kissing him. He kissed her passionately, their noses brushing against each others faces. Her hands moved up, tangling in his hair, running along his neck.

Damon's hand search the covers on the bed for the stereo remote. He knew it was there still from the night before. He finally found it, and clicked the button at the top. Music came on, and he turned it up a bit, the second he did so, a small moan came from Bonnie. He knew it was more comfortable for her to make noise when she didn't feel like everyone else in the cabin would hear her. They had only had sex two times so far, but he was catching on to what things she preferred, and his favorite, the things that drove her crazy.

Damon broke the kiss, but trailed his lips along her cheek until he made it to her ear.

"I love every sound you make." he whispered huskily, and rolled his hips forward against her.

"I love when you love things about me." Bonnie said, and then giggled.

He laughed against her hair, and she could feel his smile against her ear, this only made her smile, and she pulled his face back to hers. Bonnie kissed his lips, slowly, and tilted one of her hips just a bit, and rolled them upwards, grinding against him in just the right spot. Damon's lips parted and his muscles tensed against her.

Bonnie ran her hands along his bare chest until her fingers were running along his happy trail near the waist band of his sweat pants. However, before she could go any lower, Damon grabbed her arms, and pinned them above her.

"What are you-" she started but Damon had already pulled off her tank top, unhooked her bra somehow and pulled it off and tossed it across the room.

His mouth met one of her nipples before she could say anything else, and his tongued swirled along her skin. Bonnie exhaled, feeling Damon's hand move down in between her legs inside her pajama bottoms. Her erect nipple popped out of his mouth and he ran his tongue along her skin, up to her neck, back up to her ear. Damon ran his thumb down to her clit, and just let it cover there.

"Naughty, naughty, Bon-Bon." he whispered, his breath against her ear making her shiver.

" _You're_ naughty." Bonnie breathed back.

Damon grinned, running his tongue along her ear, and pressed his thumb against the soft flesh rubbing in slow circles. She spread her thighs more, leaning her head back further. He pressed harder, and her hips grinded upwards moving at a matching pace.

Damon moved his face back to hers to kissed her deeply, their teeth clashing together, lips desperately clinging to each other. He could feel the wetness between her legs as it grew with the warmth and he pulled his hand from her pants. Bonnie tried to object when he was breaking the kiss, biting at his lip until it slid out of her mouths grip. Damon growled a little, biting at the side of her face.

He kissed down her neck, her torso, sliding her bottoms and panties off in one pull. With his head inbetween her thighs he licked along her ample thighs. Bonnie moaned softly, closing her eyes.

Damon bit the flesh of her thighs, well intent on leaving more marks to make up for the ones that were fading.

"Mhmm." Bonnie breathed outwards when his tongue ran along her clit, pressing up against it.

He pulled her legs up to rest on his shoulders and flicked his tongue, making her hips swivel forwards.

Bonnie's thighs flushed and she reached downwards, grabbing at his thick dark hair. Damon ran his lips along the fleshy pink velvet of her, delving his tongue inside her, once again bringing his thumb up to rub at her sensitive nub.

Bonnie rolled her hips along with his movements, and he could tell she was getting close to coming, as her hips started to move faster than his tongue and thumb. Her moans were muffled by the music but he made up for it by groaning against her warmth. Bonnie felt pleasure pooling in her abdomen as her thighs moved up and pressed up against Damon's head tightly. Her back arched and she exhaled with a rasp of a moan.

"Oh, fuck." she moaned again.

Damon's lips found their way to her thighs again and he basked in the heat of her skin, the smell of her for several movements. He moved back up to kiss her neck feverishly. Bonnie tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled, invoking a rather intense growl from the man, and his teeth sinking into her shoulder. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned into his ear. Their lips met each others, engulged in a wet heat, they kissed each other breathily.

Sometime later, they had been lying beside each other, and realized they were starving. So, after getting dressed and reminding each other they needed to eat to live, they wandered out of the room and down the hallway.

Bonnie could hear Stefan and Caroline laughing and talking in the kitchen, so she grabbed Damon's arm and stopped him in the middle of the main room.

"I don't believe that, I think you did." Caroline said, and Stefan said something back that was too quiet to hear.

Bonnie smiled, and then her and Damon slowly headed into the kitchen to see Stefan and Caroline leaning against the counters, apparently cooking dinner.

"Hey you two." Caroline smiled holding a wooden spoon.

"Hello."Bonnie chuckled, "Cooking dinner?"

"Yes. Stefan and I thought after we all eat, we could finally put up the Christmas tree." she suggested.

Damon ran his fingers thew his hair, "Sounds good."

Bonnie nodded and fiddled with her cellphone in her hand, she had been looking for a moment to make a call. So when Damon got caught up in conversation with Caroline and Stefan, she slipped out of the kitchen.

She walked over to one of the windows and leaned against the wall, going through her contact. Bonnie put the ringing phone up to her ear, and waited through eleven rings.

 _'Hello, this is Lily Salvatore, sorry I couldn't answer, please leave a message after the beep.'_

"Uh, hi, Lily." Bonnie said after a second, "I just wanted to see how you were. Call me back when you can."

Bonnie sighed and hung up. She wasn't a huge fan of Lily's, but, she wanted to be closer to her, wanted them to make up completely, be the kind of family that would go to lunch together, answer the phone when one of them called...

"She's probably just busy." she reminded herself and walked over, setting her phone on the couch.

The food was done soon, and they all ate at the table, talking about how they should all also get their presents for each other wrapped before Christmas Eve.

"I'll get the box of ornaments." Bonnie said with a smile, hopping up to run down the hall while the Men went to get the tree out of the closet and Caroline wrapped the lights and garland.

Bonnie grabbed the cardboard box and carried it out to the living room, listening to the small clink as she walked and set it down in the living room.

Damon was working on getting the branches of the tree spread out and Caroline was untangling lights.

"I haven't done this for at least two years." Bonnie admitted as she stepped over to help Caroline with the lights.

"Damon and I haven't put up a Christmas tree or decoration since we were kids." Stefan told them, and both Caroline and Bonnie gave the men a sad look.

"Hey, no sad faces. We're supposed to be having fun." Damon said pointing a finger at them.

Bonnie smiled a little and after the lights were untangled, and the tree was sorted, they all worked on getting the lights hung on the tree.

"Okay, put the rest of the cord there, we'll plug it in when we're done." Caroline told Stefan.

"Oh, look, my Grams gave me this one when I was five." Bonnie smiled, showing Damon a deer shaped ornament with Bonnie's initials on it.

"Let's put it in the front." he suggested and helped her hang it along the upper front of the tree.

Finally the tree was covered in garland, and ornaments, there was just one last thing to do. Put the Angel on top of the tree.

"Here." Damon handed it to her, and she pursed lips, looking at it.

"I want you to do." she told him, looking up at him, "My dad put it on the tree the year he married my mom."

Caroline held back an 'awww' as she watched Damon smile at Bonnie and take the Angel.

Damon stepped over, reaching up and placing the Angel on top of the tree. Stefan plugged the tree in and it lit up with white lights.

Bonnie walked over to Damon, threading her fingers with his.

"Our first Christmas tree." she whispered, leaning her head against him.

He smiled and looked down at her, squeezing her hand.

"One of many."

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Bonnie mumbled in her half asleep state, her forehead pressed again Damon's bare shoulder, and the dull rising sunlight shining in through the slits in the curtains. She licked at her lips, green eyes fluttering open as she yawned a small yawn.

Damon was still asleep, so he looked, with his eyes closed, lying on his back, one of his arms above his head. She smiled looking at him as her vision cleared. Waking up beside him was something she would never take for granted, and if she ever did, she hoped someone would snap her out of it.

Suddenly, as she looked at him, she remembered what day it was. Bonnie gasped, bouncing a little, and Damon's eyes fluttered a little, as she'd startled him awake.

She kicked the sheet off her half naked body and hopped on top of Damon, straddling him.

"It's Christmas!" she beamed, tapping her hands on his shoulders.

Damon chuckled sleepily, open his eyes completely.

"Calmati..." he whispered, moving his hands up to pat the sides of her thighs gently.

Bonnie smiled and leaned down, placing butterfly kisses along his neck, and his chest, leaving warm wet spots along his skin.

"Hmmm... Well, Merry Christmas to you too." he breathed.

She giggled, scooting upwards and kissing his lips. Damon kissed her back softly but she was up and off him and the bed before she could count to five.

Bonnie was just in her bra and panties so she grabbed a pair of sweats and t-shirt, pulling them on.

"Baby, get up and get dressed." she chuckled looking over at her sleepy looking husband who was in the middle of a yawn.

"I'll... be out there in a second." Damon mumbled, and she smiled shaking her head.

Bonnie wasted no time going out of the door and down the hallway. When she got to the main room, Caroline was on the couch, looking half asleep with her face resting in her hand. Stefan was putting more wood into the burning fireplace.

"There's coffee in the kitchen." Caroline mumbled, and Bonnie inhaled, smelling the dark roast coffee wafting into the room.

Bonnie shuffled across the room and into the kitchen. Blinking, she was a little startled when she walked in.

Rudy was standing there by the coffee pot, wearing a Santa hat.

"Daddy!" she smiled and rushed over to hug him.

"Hey sweetheart." he squeezed her back tightly, and kissed the top of her hair.

"I'm so glad you're here." Bonnie said not letting him go for several more moments.

Damon walked into the kitchen clothed as Bonnie broke her hug with her father.

"Rudy, good morning." he said, meaning to sound more excited but he was still tired.

"Good morning, Damon. Merry Christmas." Rudy replied and stepped out of the way so Damon could get his coffee.

"Merry Christmas." he said grabbing two mugs.

"Make me one too." Bonnie told Damon who smiled.

"I was planning on it." Damon said looking over at her.

Rudy smiled and grabbed his already made mug of coffee and headed out into the living room.

A few minutes later everyone was sitting in the living room drinking their coffee and getting ready to open presents.

"Here, you guys can open Rudy's present first." Caroline said grabbing Bonnie and Damon's present and handing it to Bonnie.

"I hope you two like it." her father said with a smile.

Bonnie smiled back, sitting on Damon's lap and opened the present slowly.

"Aw, look, it's us." she showed him the framed photo of them at their wedding.

They had never actually gotten any prints of the photo's taken outside that day, and now that they were planning on getting a place of their own, having photo's of themselves would be a good idea.

"We love it, Rudy, thank you." Damon told him and grabbed the photo to look at it himself.

Bonnie hopped up to hand Rudy their present to him.

"We must think a lot a like." she teased as Rudy opened it.

The present was a framed photo of Damon and Bonnie from the photo-shoot done at Damon's birthday party.

"This is great, I can bring it with me on tour, keep it in my trailer." her father smiled, and Bonnie tried to be positive. But, she was a little tired of always hearing about him being on tour.

Sometimes she wasn't sure he liked being anywhere else.

Bonnie nodded and tried to get her mind off that, grabbing the present Damon had gotten her.  
She unwrapped it, and smiled.

"The camera, you remembered." she smiled, looking at the red and white nikon camera.

"Always." Damon smiled and kissed the side of her face, watching her nose wrinkle with happiness.

Damon chuckled and tossed Stefan and Caroline their presents, which were just in red envelopes.

"My present to you guys is paying for the DNCE tickets." he smirked as they pulled the tickets out.

"Oh yeah!" Bonnie smiled, "The concert."

Damon had gotten them tickets two but left them at home.

"Thanks." Caroline looked delighted and Stefan chuckled, fanning himself with the envelope.

"My turn." Bonnie hopped up and grabbed Damon's present which was painfully obvious, as it was round, and wrapped round.

Damon gave her a look, and shrugged like she didn't know why he was looking at her that way.

"A bowling ball." he shook his head when he unwrapped it.

She giggled and gave him an innocent look.

"Care, you're present is there." Bonnie told her, and watched her friend open it.

"New point shoes! Thank you." Caroline told her and tossed her her gift.

Bonnie opened her gift, which was a dark red leather jacket.

When it got to Stefan, Caroline looked nervous, but watched him open the gift.

"An acoustic guitar." Stefan said slowly, and looked over at her.

"Yeah, I remembered you mentioned you want to learn to play at the hospital." she smiled, her face a little pink.

"Well thank you." she smiled back at her, and handed her present, which was a silk pillow case with CF on one of the corners.

"Aha!" Bonnie laughed when she opened Stefan's present to her which was a t-shirt that said 'I'm a Salvatore' on it.

With all the presents opened, they all sat around and talked for a while. Rudy didn't say too much, honestly, Caroline spoke the most, but this was alright because Damon was ready for a nap by the time noon came around, and since he was going to help cook Christmas dinner, he needed to perserve his energy.

"Alright, Damon, come with me, we need to get started on cooking." Caroline said hopping up from the couch with three cups of coffee buzzing around in her brain.

Stefan got up to grab all of the Christmas wrappings and throw them away, leaving Rudy and Bonnie by themselves.

"You know, I've missed you a lot." Bonnie said after a second, looking at her father.

"I have missed you too, I try to call you whenever I can." Rudy said with a small smile.

She sighed and nodded, "I know. I just wish you could more often, be here, and call me that is."

"I would if I could." his forehead crinkled.

"But would you?" Bonnie questioned, but before he could answer she stood up and excused herself to the kitchen.

The truth was, she didn't want to bring up anything dramatic, not on Christmas. She knew she needed to talk about it with Rudy, but, now wasn't the time. For the first time in years, she was with actual family on Christmas, her husband, her father, her brother in law, and Caroline, who was already like a sister to her.  
"Hey, Damon, I know you're helping out, but can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Bonnie asked him, and he set the pan he had down on the counter.

"Of course." he replied, and following her out of the kitchen and to the bedroom.

"Is everything okay?" Damon questioned.

Bonnie nodded taking a breath, "Yeah, uh, I just have a second present for you. I wanted to give it to you in private though."

He smiled, "That's ironic because I actually have a second present for you too."

"Really?" her eyes brightened a bit.

"Yes, but, you can go first." Damon motioned, and Bonnie walked over to one of her bags, wrapping a wrapped present from it and handing it to Damon.

Damon slowly unwrapped it, and his heart squeezed in his chest a bit.

"Scrubs..." he said queitly, looking at the blue fabric.

"I know, I know, you haven't decided if you're going to finish your medical degree." Bonnie started, "...but, if you do, you'll have those."

Damon smiled, just looking at her lovingly for a moment. Then he turned around and grabbed his present.

"Typically, women of the family aren't given these, but, I figured you could be the first." he said turning back around to show her.

Bonnie looked down at the ring in between two of his fingers. It mirrored his lapis and silver family ring, except it was a little bit smaller, with a B engraved along the top.

"Oh..." she whispered, "I love it."

Damon lifted her right hand, since the left's ring finger was already occupied, and slid the ring on.

"Thank you." Bonnie smiled and tossed her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Damon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, nuzzling his face against her hair.

"I love you, angel." he said softly, running his hand up and down her back.

"I love you too." Bonnie turned her head and kissed the side of his face.

They both headed back out of the room, and into the kitchen were Stefan was helping Caroline cook now.

"I don't know why you think you can cook Stefan, because you can't." Damon teased his brother.

"Oh, like you're a chef." Stefan replied.

Damon chuckled, "Technically..." he started but his brother threw a spoon at him.

"Ouch, hey!" he furrowed his brow and threw it back, watching it Stefan in the back of the head.

"Shit!" Stefan rubbed at his head.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Hey, stop hurting each other with kitchenware."

Caroline wagged her finger at them in agreement and smiled, picking the spoon up off the floor.

They all helped out cooking in the kitchen, though Bonnie wasn't much help, and if she'd been in there alone, or even with just Stefan, she'd have burnt herself at least five times. Damon watched Bonnie agrue with Caroline playfully, and then remembered Rudy was sitting in the living room.

He felt kind of bad for the guy, he was gone all the time, and left out of things, but, at the same time, Damon didn't understand why he couldn't just you know, get up and join them in the kitchen.

Either way, Damon slipped out of the kitchen when he got the chance, and stepped out into the living room.

"How're you doing?" he asked Rudy who was on the couch, and sat beside him.

"Alright, glad to be here." Rudy replied, but looked a little off, nervous.

Damon nodded, folding his arms over his chest, "You know, if you want to talk, or join us in the kitchen you can."

Damon wasn't that close with Rudy, even after sitting with him for weeks while Bonnie was in a coma. And much like Bonnie was bothered by not being close to Lily, Damon wished he was closer with Rudy. However, it's hard to be close to someone who you hardly see, and who rarely calls his own daughter, much less her husband.

"I know." he told him, looking away from him for a minute.

Damon was about to stand back up and go back in the kitchen, but he turned his head back and spoke.

"Since I have you alone." Rudy started, "I should tell you something."

He looked at his father in law curiously, "Go ahead."

"I might have...invited Abby to come here for dinner." he told Damon whose eyes widened.

"What wait?" Damon asked, hoping he'd heard him incorrectly or was part of a prank.

Rudy cleared his throat, "Yeah, I thought you should know."

"You thought I should know?" he asked, unsure of what to think.

"Yes, Bonnie's probably not going to be happy about it, but Abby really wanted to be here. It would be a lot of help if you could calm Bonnie..." he spoke but Damon stood up from the couch.

"Okay, that's going to have to be a no from me." Damon said with a flabbergasted nervous chuckle, "Rather than ask your own daughter, or even tell you, you decide to tell me so that I can keep Bonnie from being mad at you?"

"I know I s-" Rudy started but Damon waved one of his hands.

"No, I'm sorry but I'm not going to be part of whatever plan you've had going on behind Bonnie's back." he said stepping away from the couch.

"It's not just Abby though, Damon..." he tried to explain, but there was a knock at the door and Damon's heart nearly stopped in his chest.

Damon swallowed as he heard Bonnie tell him from the kitchen to get the door.

He walked slowly over, and put his hand on the door handle.

"I swear to God..." inhaled, closing his eyes for a second before opening the door despite every part of him that wanted to forget how to open a door.

When Damon's eyes opened, he saw exactly what he didn't want to see. There Abby Bennett was, her green eyes mirroring Bonnie's and a wool hat over her head. But, after a moment, he realized it wasn't just Abby.

His eyes trailed downwards, and there standing beside her, holding her hand was a toddler, a boy, with light skin and large hazel eyes that were staring at Damon wondrously.

Before Damon could even get a word out, he felt a presence behind him.

"Mom?"

* * *

 _Please **leave a review**!_

* * *

 **{Translations}**

 _Mio amore, la mia dolce, il mio tutto_ : My love, my sweet, my everything.

 _Tu sei il sole, la luna, le stelle, mia cara_ : You are the sun, the moon, the stars, my dear.

 _Voglio assaggiare voi e piu e piu volte, fino alla fine dei tempi_ : I want to taste you over and over again, until the end of time.

 _Che_ : What.

 _Non sono?_ : I am?

 _Calmati:_ Calm down.


	27. The Choices We Make

**_Chapter 26_** _\- The Choices We Make_

 **Sometime In The Future.**

The sunlight was barely shining through the curtains, and it was so early in the morning that the birds had just woken. Wandering down the hallway halfway through a yawn was Bonnie, and brewing in the kitchen was a pot of coffee.

If it wasn't for Damon, the coffee probably wouldn't have been brewing, and Bonnie wouldn't have been awake yet. Thankfully, she did have him.

"I'm comin', lil muffin." she chuckled as she walked into the nursery, and turned down the light to it's lowest setting.

"I got her dressed." Damon's voice came from behind her as he leaned out of the adjoining bathroom.

Bonnie smiled, lowering the side of the crib, "What in the world did daddy put on you?"

* * *

 **Present**

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked, walking over beside Damon.

Her mother was standing in the doorway still, a toddler boy holding her hand with his gloved on.

"Your father invited her." Damon replied, his hand still holding tightly onto to the doorknob.

He knew for a fact Bonnie was not going to be okay with this. Bonnie didn't often get upset, but out of all the times she had gotten upset, the most upset she had even gotten was when her mother showed up unannounced. Granted, this time was different; but Bonnie was growing tired of secrets.

"You invited Abby without asking, or telling me?" she turned around to look at Rudy.

Bonnie could have understood if he had invited her to some big event, but not their holiday vacation. If she had been comfortable with Abby being there, she would have invited her herself.

"I know, I shouldn't have but, she's your mother." Rudy said standing up slowly, with a regretful look on his face.

Swallowing hard, she was filling to the brim with things she wanted to say right then and there. However, as her eyes flickered around to everyone in the room, Bonnie knew this conversation she needed to have with her father, needed to be in private.

"Abby, come in for a few minutes, I need to have a talk with my father." she said and started walking towards the left side of the cabin.

Rudy followed her down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind him.

"Look, I know you're upset..." he started, but she quickly interrupted him.

"No, I am not just upset, I am pissed." Bonnie folded her arms, "You went behind my back and invited Abby."

Rudy furrowed his brow, "I'm sorry, Bonnie, I just wanted you two to bond, she wants to be a part of your life."

"I know that, dad." she shook her head, "You think I don't know? But it is my choice to see her, to bond with her. I am not okay with you inviting her without talking to me first."

Bonnie had spent so long over looking the faults in her family, she's spent so long just being happy that she had a family at all. The truth was, people mistreated her, people lied to her, people did things behind her back. Abby had abandoned her, her father was never around, Giuseppe had tried to kill her, and yet again, she was being blind sided by something.

"I don't want to fight with you, all I did was invite her, you can tell her to leave." he said with a sigh, looking at her as though she was overreacting.

"I shouldn't have to tell her to leave! You're the one who invited her." Bonnie stepped closer to him unfolding her arms. She had a lot to say, and maybe what happened next was due to her emotions building up, but she never regretted saying any of it. Sometimes things have to get worse before than can get better.

"You are always gone, I hardly see you, you hardly make time to call me; and, I thought I was okay with it." she took a breath, "I understand that you're on tour, you're a busy man, dad. After mom left, I was just thankful that you were here at all; but, I'm not anymore."

Rudy just looked at her, his face grower sadder.

"I am tired of people not working to make time for me." Bonnie's eyes filled with tears, because she knew what she was going to say wasn't going to be easy, and it was going to seem harsh, but she wanted the new year, to be a new stage of her life. Things needed to change, even if the old ways were once comfortable. Bonnie was choosing to change things.

"I don't want to see you until after your current tour, until you are available and ready to prove to me that you want to me a part of my life. You haven't been a big part of my life in a long time, too long." she swallowed hard.

Her father nodded slowly, "I understand. I guess I lost site of everything after Abby left, I haven't paid attention to you like I should. I'm sorry."

"I know you are. But, you not being here for me, you inviting Abby isn't the only reason I am upset." Bonnie inhaled, "You already knew Abby has a child, if that's her child, and a family. You knew where she was long before this year, did you?"

Rudy hesitated.

"Don't lie to me." she said her voice cracking, her tears struggling to stay along her lash

"I did know. I had known where she was for a few years, I didn't know about her son until a year ago." he told her, and watched several tears drip from her eyes and run down her cheeks.

Bonnie nodded slowly, taking a breath.

"I want you to leave after dinner." she said, her throat feeling dry.

Rudy was disappointed, though he knew he had messed up, and it wasn't his place to disagree with her.

"Okay..." he spoke slowly, "I'm sorry. I love you."

Bonnie's eyes flickered away from him, "I love you too."

Rudy turned around, opened the door and walked out of the room. When he entered the main room, Damon was leaning against the back of the chair Caroline was sitting in. Their eyes met, and Damon knew he needed to go talk with Bonnie.

He headed down the hallway. When he walked into the bedroom Bonnie was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard with her knee's pulled up to her chest. Damon closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, but then followed up, "That was a stupid question... Don't answer."

Damon sat down beside her, noticing the dampness of her face, and his heart sunk in his chest.

"You can tell me what happened if you want, but, you don't have to." he told her, placing his hands in his lap.

Bonnie inhaled, "No.. I want to." when she exhaled shakily, more tears ran down her cheeks.

"I told my dad, I don't want to see him until after his tour, when he can actually be in my life. I don't feel like he's been trying the last, countless years of my life, he's never really put much of an effort in." she explained, looking down at her hands.

Damon's forehead creased.

"I appreciated him being here even though it is hardly enough, because I have always felt like I _had_ too." Bonnie's eyes flickered up to Damon, "After Abby left."

He watched her tears grow heavier, and he quickly wrapped an arm around her, pulling Bonnie against his chest.

"You don't have to settle, you're allowed to want more from people." he assured her, listening to her sniffles.

"I know." Bonnie's breath caught in her throat with a small sob, even as she tried to stay calm, "Ironically enough, now Abby wants to be in my life, she's making an effort."

Damon nodded, brushing some of her hair that had gotten damp out of her face.

"Which...is why I'm going to try and let Abby back into my life." she took a much deeper breath, "She's trying, and that's more than I can say about other people."

"Whatever you think is best, I support you." he leaned down a bit, pressing his lips to her temple, and wiping away her tears with his fingers.

Bonnie chuckle, "You're almost too supportive."

"Don't worry. I'll put you in your place if need be." Damon teased, but, she knew he was somewhat serious. Damon would let her know if she wasn't thinking clearly, or was making a decision he didn't agree with. Just like she would do the same for him.

"Thank you." she whispered, and nuzzled her face against his shoulder.

Bonnie wished they were alone, at their own home, where they didn't have to face another person for at least a week; but, it was Christmas after all, and she didn't want to spend the entire day feeling sad.

"I'll be out there soon, I just need some time by myself." Bonnie told him.

Damon kissed her head again and slid off the bed, making his way out of the room. He was not happy with the situation, and had half the mind to say a few things to Rudy himself, however, he sure what Bonnie had said was more than enough. There was no reason to make the tension in the room heavier.

"Bonnie will be out soon." he told everyone who was casually watching the television, and trying to pretend like this wasn't super awkward.

Abby still wasn't sure if she was going to be allowed to stay, but she'd taken of her, and her sons outerwear, and the little guy was wiggling his way off the couch.

"What's his name?" Caroline asked after a second.

"Maddox." Abby replied with a small smile, "He's two."

Maddox kicked his legs until his feet finally touched the floor and then turned around to look curiously around.

Damon stood several feet back from the seats, eyes flickering over to Maddox. Maddox's green eyes met his, and a smile spread across the little boys face.

Damon chuckled. If anything was going to break the tension, it was a giggling toddler. Maddox was adorable as hell. His skin was a color or two lighter than Bonnie's, his hair in medium brown curls on his head, and his chubby little face.

Maddox reached over pulling at Abby's pant leg, and pointed a finger out at Damon.

"That's Damon." Abby said leaning forward a little, "He's married to your sister. He's your brother-in-law, do you remember brother-in-law?"

"Broffer law." Maddox repeated, and then proceeded to hide his face with his hands.

"I'm going to continue with the food." Caroline announced, while getting up to go into the kitchen.

Abby stood up as well, "Rudy, I was wondering if we could talk?"

Rudy nodded, "Of course."

Abby reached a hand down and touched Maddox's hair.

"Do you mind keeping an eye on him for a minute?" she asked Damon.

"Of course not." Damon replied, and within minutes the only ones left in the main room were Stefan, Damon and Maddox.

Damon walked over, sitting on the couch across the Stefan.

"How're you doing?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Honestly, like I want a drink." he replied with a sigh.

He was doing his best to hold it together for Bonnie, but the truth was, he had been fighting the urge the last twenty minutes. Being sober was not as easy as he made it seem, even with his wife's support.

"Do you plan on going to another meeting soon?" he questioned.

Damon pursed his lips, "I want to. I should. Probably after the new years."

"Alright, I just, don't want you to hit rock bottom again." Stefan furrowed his brow, "'I'm here for you. Bonnie is too, you should talk to her."

He nodded and raked his fingers through his hair.

"I will, but, right now she's dealing with enough." Damon's eyes flickered down to Maddox who was tapping his hands on his knee slowly.

He chuckled, "What are you doing?"

Damon grabbed the boy and pulled him up into his lap. Maddox whined a little bit, nervous.

"Hey." he said quietly, "It's okay, kid."

Stefan snorted, "You're be a great dad."

"Shut it." Damon glared at him for a second.

Maddox furrowed his brow and tried to wiggle out of Damon's arms, "Mama."

"She'll be back." he assured the boy.

Damon hadn't spent much time around kids, his home life, work life, wasn't centered around children, or anyone who had not yet learnt sticking your whole fist into your mouth wasn't appropriate. Maddox had not yet gotten this memo.

"What in the world are you doing?" Damon chuckled, and pulled the boys saliva covered fist out of his mouth.

Maddox didn't appreciate this, and he started to try, pressing his spit covered hand to Damon's face frustratedly.

"Woah, I'm sorry." he said quickly, and started to bounce him, "You can eat your fist any time you want. You can even eat my fist if you want."

Damon smirked and lifted his knuckles up to Maddox who leaned in. Damon regretted this when several surprisingly sharp teeth bit into his hand. He cringed, and Stefan snickered at him just as Bonnie entered the room, looking more composed. Her eyes met Damon's and then she looked around for Abby who had just walked back over with Rudy.

"Hey." Bonnie to to Abby as she stepped over, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea he hadn't spoken to you at all." Abby sighed.

Bonnie shook her head, "I don't want to talk about that... I just want to let you know, you're welcome to stay, you and your son."

"Thank you." her mother smiled, "Would it be alright if my fiance came?"

"I don't think I'm ready for that just yet." she replied, and Abby nodded understandingly.

After a moment Caroline walked back out and tapped Damon on the shoulder.

"You're up." she told him, pointing her thumb at the kitchen.

Damon placed Maddox on the couch and stood up, walking for the kitchen.

"Mind if I help, Damon?" Abby asked.

"Uh, sure you can help." he said after hesitating for a moment.

He had never really talked to Abby before, and most of what he knew about her had come from Bonnie. Which meant that he knew how hurt Bonnie was, and how Abby had left them without a goodbye. Damon wasn't her biggest fan to say the least.

They both walked into the kitchen, and he worked on stirring several pots on the stove.

"Can I ask you a question?" Damon looked over at Abby as she leaned against the counter.

"Of course." she smiled just a bit.

"Why didn't you show up when Bonnie was in the coma, why later?" he asked her slowly.

Abby sighed, standing up straighter, "I wasn't sure if her life would be better with me in it. I was worried, but, I was also worried she'd never forgive me."

"But, you obviously changed your mind on that." Damon noted.

"I didn't change my mind on it... I was still worried, I still am worried Bonnie will never be comfortable around me. I just decided knowing that I at least tried was better than nothing." she explained, and Damon nodded. He could understand this notion. His own mother hadn't treated him very well, but, she was trying to be in his life more.

He suddenly felt especially guilty about not inviting Lily up north with them.

"I can respect that." Damon said looking up at her from the stove, "I just don't want you hurting her again, she's been through enough."

Abby's eyes softened and she nodded.

"I don't want her getting hurt either..." she smiled just a bit, " I wasn't sure about you, because, and no offense, your family doesn't have the kindness reputation... However, Damon, you seem like a good man. I trust you."

Damon's face warmed a little.

"Thank you... I don't know if I trust you yet, though." he admitted, and she shrugged.

"I wouldn't expect anything less... Now, what can I help with?" she asked, and he looked back towards the food.

Meanwhile, Bonnie, Caroline, Rudy, Stefan and Maddox were all sitting in the livingroom. Rudy was all eyes on the TV, and Stefan was all eyes on Caroline. Maddox was meandering around the table, occasionally stopping to stare wide eyed at the television.

Bonnie was just quiet, still trying to feel something other than betrayal from her own family. She felt kind of numb, but, that's usually how she felt after crying. It took a few moments for her to let some positive emotions back in.

Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out, seeing a text from Caroline who was sitting across from her.

 _ **Caroline:**_ _Sorry about your dad pulling that shit._

Bonnie looked up a bit, and the blond gave her a sympathetic smile.

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _Yeah me too. Someone could've at least told me, told me I have a little brother._

 _ **Caroline:**_ _Too late now..._

She chuckled lowly and rolled her eyes, her phone buzzing again.

 _ **Caroline:**_ _Love you_

 _ **Bonnie:**_ _I love you too Care_

Bonnie set her phone down, her eyes flickering over to her brother. She didn't know his name, she didn't know who he was, she didn't even know he had excised until twenty minutes before. Her chest hurt, and honestly part of her wanted nothing to do with him. However, Bonnie knew the little boy had nothing to do with her parents mess.

"His name's Maddox." Caroline told her, noticing that Bonnie was looking at him.

"Oh, okay." Bonnie said quietly, and bit at her lip.

She eyed the boy for a second.

"Maddox." she said slowly, and his eyes that mirrored the color of both her's and her mothers flickered over to hers.

"Come here." Bonnie said motioning him, and he wobbled over a little anxious looking.

She held her hands out for him so she could pick him up. Maddox gave her a twice over before grabbing her thumbs with his small hands. Bonnie slid her hands underneath his arms and pulled him up into her lap.

"Hi." she whispered.

Looking at Maddox up close, he really was cute, and made her lips turn up at the edges. As if her yearning for children wasn't enough already, he was a beautiful combination of Abby and whoever her fiance was.

"I'm Bonnie, your sister." she told him, and he pouted out his lips as he processed this.

"Bon-Bon Bonnie." Maddox grinned, enjoying the way her name sounded to his young ears.

She smiled back at him.

"How old are you Maddox?" Bonnie asked him, touching the front of his shirt.

"Two!" he said, holding up three fingers.

Bonnie chuckled, "Is that so?"

He nodded and then shoved his fingers into his mouth, leaning his head up against her shoulder.

She looked down at him, feeling a little strange. Having a toddler brother out of no where wasn't the most normal thing, and it was a little painful. Abby had abandoned her, and had a new family with someone else. Maddox would get to grow up with his mother there, Bonnie lost her before she was even a teenager.

Bonnie tried to shake this out of her head, and decided to just focus on Christmas.

Later that day, dinner was finally ready and they all sat at the long table eating. It was still a quiet dinner, but occasionally someone brought up a topic that got them talking for a few minutes.

"Do you remember when Grams made me that sled?" Bonnie asked across the table towards her parents who were sitting side by side for the first time in thirteen years.

Abby smiled a bit, "Yeah, she spent about a month making it, and you lost it on day two."

Bonnie chuckled taking a bite of ham.

"She didn't actually lose it." Rudy told them, and Abby raised an eyebrow.

"I ran off, sledding down by the lake where I was told not too." Bonnie explained, "Dad came after me, I was fine by the sled sank into the lake."

"I knew something was sketchy about that story." Abby shook her head.

Damon looked at them with a smile from his place beside Bonnie. It was nice, hearing good stories from Bonnie's childhood. He didn't have to many happy stories, but he planned on making new ones with Bonnie.

"I broke my hand once sledding." Caroline chimed in with a mouth full of food.

"You never told me that." Bonnie looked at her curiously.

She nodded, swallowing, "It was when I was twelve. I hit my hand on a tree."

Stefan tried to hide his small snicker, but Caroline heard it just faintly and kicked his shin underneath the table.

"Shhii.." Stefan mumbled, and quickly placed his hand against his mouth casually and tried to pretend he was just paying attention to his food.

Maddox was sitting in a booster seat, shoving handfuls of cut up food into his mouth, happily oblivious to everyone around him.

Soon after dinner it was time for Rudy to leave. Bonnie had followed him out onto the snowy porch in just one one her thick sweaters to say goodbye.

"Goodbye, Bonnie." he said, extending an arm out for a hug.

Bonnie leaned in, giving him a small squeeze before pulling back.

"I hope I can prove I want to be a bigger part of yoru life." Rudy told her, holding his car keys in his left hand.

"I want to give you a chance, like with Abby, but, I can't until you're available to actually be in my life." Bonnie reminded him, pulling her sweater closed tighter as a breeze ruffled her hair.

Rudy nodded, "I know..."

They just stood there for a moment, before he leaned over, and kissed her forehead. He turned around, heading for his car and moments later Bonnie watched him driveway until she was left in the darkness of the evening. Bonnie just stood there, thinking.

It would be several months before she'd get to see her father again. Had she made the right decision? Bonnie realized that she could always change her mind later on, but, in that moment, she did feel like she'd made a good choice for her life, for everyone's life. It wasn't just her she wanted Rudy to make time for, it was Damon as well; but, just because it was the right choice didn't mean it didn't hurt.

The front door opened, Caroline standing in the frame, watching Bonnie stare out into the night.

"We're all going to have cocoa, if you want to come back inside." she said tilting her head to the side.

Bonnie inhaled slowly, and turned around, "Yeah, I'm coming."

Once inside, everyone sat around the coffee table with their mugs of cocoa. Maddox had a sippy cup filled with warm cocoa, that he was carrying around with him as he explored the living room.

"Hey, hey." Damon rushed over to scoop him up off the ground before he could knock the tree over.

Abby chuckled, "Yeah, kids under four are not good with Christmas tree's.

Damon carried Maddox back over to the couch as he grumbled.

"I'll remember that." Bonnie smiled just a little as Damon sat back down beside her.

Maddox stood on Damon's lap, refusing to sit down, sitting his cup on top of Damon's head.

Bonnie watched as her husband played with Maddox, poking his cheek and tickling his stomach. The boy eventually sat down but tossed his sippy cup to the side so he could put both of his hands on Damon's face.

"What's your full name Maddox?" Damon asked him, and the boy looked confused for a moment.

"Maddox Zander Michaelson." Abby replied with a chuckle as she sipped her cocoa.

Damon smiled, "Cool name bud."

Maddox giggled, "Demon." he said placing his hand over Damon's nose.

"Damon." he chuckled, amused.

"Day-emon." the boy said slowly.

Bonnie smirked, reaching a hand over and rubbing her little brothers back softly. Damon was so good with the toddler. She remembered the conversation they had when they had first gotten married. Bonnie had told him she wanted children, Damon said he never thought about it much, but wanted them too.

Maybe it was just the bundle of cuteness sitting on her husbands lap, but, her dream of having a child was growing larger. Bonnie felt like it was way too soon to even mention having children, or plan to have children yet though. Their five month anniversary had been a few days before. Five months seemed like a long yet short amount of time.

Bonnie realized she was struggling with their relationship more than she wanted to admit. She loved Damon, more than anything, but this is part of what worried her. They hadn't been together very long, they'd gotten married before dating, they fell in love after getting married. It was all backwards, upside down, and frightening. She didn't want them to move so quickly that Damon grew bored of her after a while, or they fell distant. Bonnie was worried if they had a child too soon, before they had been in love long enough, they wouldn't be as strong as other couples.

She shook her head a little, surprised by the sudden influx of anxious thoughts in her head. If she didn't think about something else, she felt like she was going to have a panic attack.

"Anyone done yet?" Caroline asked, getting up to take her mug to the kitchen.

"I'll help you wash dishes." Stefan offered, following her into the kitchen.

He was a little buzzed from several glasses of wine, and was feeling pretty happy despite the awkward scene from earlier that day. He still hadn't really spoken to Abby and was unsure of what to say. What do you say to family you know nothing about? Bonnie had told Damon about her mother, but Stefan was clueless other than the fact that Abby abandoned her.

"You're not smooth." the blond told him as she set her mug on the counter, turning the hot water knob on the sink.

Stefan smiled, leaning against the counter.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." he insisted.

Caroline looked over at Stefan, his light green eyes pouring into her face. Honestly, she was tired of taking things slow with him. It was obvious he was into her, and she had several things she wanted to do to him right there in that kitchen if it wasn't for everyone sitting in the main room.

However, she wasn't so sure she wanted something serious. Matt had been all the serious she needed for a while.

Caroline stepped closer to him, biting at her lower lip.

"You know how, you said when I want you to kiss me, to tell you?" she asked him, and his eyes lit up.

"Mhm." Stefan replied, his lips turning up at the corners.

Caroline smiled back at him, "Before I ask... I need to tell you, I don't really know if I want something serious right now. If we this goes somewhere, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't want anything serious, huh?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I just got out of the longest relationship of my life. I need something different, something fun..." she told him as her moved even closer, making her heart beat harder in her chest.

He placed his hand on her waist, pulled her even closer.

"Do you want something fun with me?" Stefan asked her quietly.

"I do." Caroline whispered, and their faces grew closer.

His lips touched hers, and she was kissing him back. Their kiss was easy, warm, soft. It wasn't like her kisses with Matt. Caroline didn't feel like she was trying to hard, or he wasn't trying enough. Stefan kissed her deeper, the grip on her waist tightening.

Unfortunately, Caroline remembered she had turned the water on. She pulled away quickly, breathing a little heavily.

"The water." she gasped and quickly reached over to turn it off just as it was almost to the top of the sink.

Stefan chuckled, and Caroline blushed as she looked back over at him.  
...

"Do you think I was too harsh on my dad?" Bonnie asked later that night as she lay beside Damon in bed.

The room was dark, cool, covers laying over them, as the moonlight just barely made a glow through the curtains.

Damon opened his eyes, already almost half asleep and turned his head towards her.

"I don't." he replied quietly, looking over at the clock across the room.

It was almost midnight, they'd been in bed for at least fifteen minutes.

"Sorry if I woke you up." she frowned, rolling over onto her side.

He chuckled lowly, and reached a hand out to run the back of his knuckles along her arm.

"It's fine, you have a lot on your mind." Damon told her, closing his eyes again, feeling goosebumps form on her soft skin.

Bonnie scooted closer and laid her head onto his t-shirt covered shoulder.

"This whole situation is strange, and a little painful." she admitted, closing her eyes as well, just talking to him in the silence of the night.

He wrapped his arm around her, held her against him.

"I know, baby." Damon turned his head, his nose pressing against her hair, "If it makes you feel any better, I feel bad about not inviting my mother here."

Bonnie chuckled sleepily, "It doesn't, but, I've actually been feeling bad about that too."

"We're one in the same aren't we?" he teased, bringing his other hand over to caress her curls.

"Complicated family." she replied, "Yet, we love them."

Damon opened his eyes slowly, and slid his fingers over, gently tilting her face up by her chin. He pressed his lips against hers, and was greeted with a soft kiss in return from unturned lips.

"That we do." he smiled back and watched her green eyes glimmer at him.

After a moment, Bonnie bit at her lip, trying to decide if she should bring what else was on her mind up.

"So, Maddox is cute huh?" she asked, and Damon nodded, knowing there was something else on her mind that she was just trying to take a detour too.

"He is." Damon leaned his head back against the pillow.

Bonnie sighed, "I know this isn't the best time to bring this up, we just got over our fight, and everything with Giuseppe just ended..." she trailed off.

"What is it?" he asked, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I want a baby." she told him quietly, "It doesn't have to be right now, or even a year from now, but, I want to have a baby with you, Damon. I need to know you feel the same way."

He licked at his lips for a moment, and then slid is hand down to caress her cheek.

"I want to have a baby with you too, Bon." Damon assured her, "I've never wanted to have a child with anyone, but with you, I do."

"I'm just worried... I mean, we haven't been together very long what if I get pregnant soon, or, what if..." Bonnie started, but Damon cut her off by gently running his thumb along her lips.

He looked into her eyes, "It doesn't matter if you get pregnant a week from now, a year from now, ten years from now. I will be happy."

"Really? You'd be happy if I was pregnant a week from now?" she gave him a doubtful look, raising her eyebrow, pursing her lips.

"Alright, so, I might be a little anxious if that happened, but, I would still love you." Damon chuckled.

She smiled, feeling some of the weight on her shoulders lift.

"I will always love you, Bonnie." he assured her, closing his eyes, nuzzling his head against her shoulder.

Bonnie relaxed into his arms, and once again, she was happy with the choices she had made... Letting her mother stay, telling her father how she really felt, having sex with Damon, kissing Damon in the rain, not kissing Enzo, loving Damon, marrying Damon.

All the way back, to sitting in his booth those months before.

"I will always love you, too."

* * *

Please _**leave a review**_!


	28. To Err Is Human

_**Chapter 27 –** To Err Is Human_

 _Everything was a little hazy, his view was from above, rather than from his own eyes straightforward. This dream was fast paced, he could hardly focus on just one thing, but what he did know was it felt sad. The emotions he felt as the dream flooded him, flashed by before he could catch anything, were pain, suffering. As wandered around aimlessly, he caught glimpses of familiar blonde hair, Caroline's face, it was sad. She was crying, and he couldn't figure out why. Of all the strange images in the dream, the one that upset him most was Caroline crying. She was just sitting there, sobbing, with her hands in her lap. Her face, body was morphed differently, as if she was in a haunted house mirror, and everything around him was spinning. He felt dizzy. Suddenly Caroline seemed to turn into something completely different, a black mass, that shot upwards at him._

Damon's eyes opened quickly as he inhaled deeply. Once his vision cleared he was staring at the ceiling, taking slow breathes. It only took seconds for whatever dreams he was having to be nothing but a slightly disturbing blank in his head.

"Bad dream?" Bonnie asked from beside him, lying on her side.

Damon cleared his throat, "Sort of, I guess."

She raised her eye brows, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "What about?"

"I don't really remember, it was wacky though, and Caroline was there." he replied, placing his arms above his head stretching.

"Should I be jealous?" Bonnie teased him.

Damon chuckled, "God no."

Smiling, she rolled back over onto her back, and arched her back also stretching. Bonnie had woken up about fifteen minutes before. She was content watching her husband sleep in the peace and quiet – definitely not ready to leave the bedroom and face the day that was for sure.

"So." he said with a yawn, then quickly rolled over onto his stomach on top of her, "What did you dream about?"

Bonnie giggled, "My one and only love of my life."

Damon smiled.

"Ryan Reynolds." she said with a smirk, and his smile fell into a glare.

She snickered, and he tilted his face down hiding it in her shoulder and hair.

"Aww, are you sad?" Bonnie whispered.

He replied with someone completely inaudible mumbled into her skin.

She wrapped her arms around him, "Wait, I was mistaken, he is not the love of my life."

Damon turned his head a little bit so he could talk.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." Bonnie said, looking down at him, "You are the love of my life."

His lips pulled up at the edges, and he kissed her neck once, before nestling his face there.

"I was worried for a second." Damon said slowly, "Ryan can't be the love of your life if he's mine."

"Pppfcft!" Bonnie unwrapped her arms from him and shoved him.

Damon laughed, and she grabbed her pillow hitting him in the face with it once.

"You're an idiot." she laughed sitting up in the bed.

He grinned, "You married me."

She mock groaned rocking backwards a bit, "Don't remind me!"

He sat up and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his lap.

"I will remind you every single day." Damon said into her hair, "For the rest of my life."

Bonnie smiled, cuddling him, "We're one huge romance novel cliché you know that right? Normal couples are not this romantic in the morning."

"It is a good thing, we are not normal." he whispered into her ear, squeezing her tighter.

Ten minutes later and they finally pulled themselves out of bed, gotten dressed and made their way out of the bedroom. The aroma of coffee was wafting all over the house, as was the smell of breakfast – bacon, eggs, and toast.

"Mmmm, who is cooking breakfast?" Bonnie asked, stretching her arms above her head.

"We know it's not Stefan." Damon mumbled, and Stefan rolled his eyes from his place on the couch.

Caroline was there as well, so, it wasn't too hard to realize who the cook in the kitchen was.

"It's all done if you two wanna get some." Abby said peaking her head out of the kitchen.

Bonnie looked over at her mother, and let go of Damon's hand before walking into the kitchen. He followed behind her.

When they got into the kitchen, breakfast was in two skillets on the stove, toast on a plate on the counter, and some fruit in a bowl.

"Take as much as you want." she told Bonnie and Damon as she held her plate.

Maddox was standing near her legs, drooling, and wasted no time following her out of the kitchen.

"This is nice of her." Damon said slowly as he grabbed two plates of them.

Bonnie nodded, putting food on her plate.

"Do you think she's trying too hard?" she asked him curiously.

Damon finished chewing the piece of bacon he'd shoved into his mouth.

"She's your mother, if she wasn't trying hard I'd be worried." he replied, finishing filling his plate.

They made their way back to the living room, sitting on the couches, and eating with everyone else. It was a little quiet as everyone ate, hungry and unsure what to say.

"Why don't we all go play in the show after this? I'm sure Maddox will have fun." Caroline suggested, looking over at the little boy who was eating small ripped up pieces of toast and eggs as he stood at the coffee table.

"That sounds like fun." Abby agreed.

Bonnie's lips pulled up at the corners just a little, and she settled back against the couch. If everything went how she wanted it to, there would be no drama on the last day they had left to enjoy at the cabin. If the past was any indication, she was probably not going to get what she wanted, but, she was going to try and be hopeful.

"I hope you brought his snow suit." Stefan smiled, setting his empty plate on the coffee table.

Abby smiled, "Of course, though the snow is too deep for him to walk out there on his own. I'll have to hold him."

They all continued eating, and Bonnie watched Maddox. She wondered if she would ever feel alright with having a brother all the sudden, if she could ever completely forgive her mother. When she was younger she often imagined her mother coming back home, telling her she was 'so very sorry' – Bonnie would imagine forgiving her, hugging her tightly, and her mother being there for the rest of her life, never leaving her again. However, she was hardly thirteen then, she wasn't a little girl anymore, and the concept of forgiveness was still easy to understand; but, harder to partake in when you decided years before your wishes weren't going to come true. Bonnie wasn't sure if she should believe in wishes, or fate anymore. Everything seemed so calculated, planned. Even marrying Damon. Was it fate they married and fell in love? Or was it a coincidence? Maybe both. All Bonnie knew was that with her mother, she wasn't sure whether it was fate she was there, or a happenstance.

Maddox seemed to be tired of the food on his plate, and once his mother yet her plate down on the table, he climbed up onto Abby's lap. Not seeming to care where he was, Maddox practically crawled into Abby's oversized pajama shirt. It took Bonnie a second to realize this was because Abby still breast fed him. Abby placed an arm underneath him to he wouldn't fall off her lap.

"Has he been sledding before?" Damon asked, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

Bonnie looked over at him – kind of proud that he wasn't phased in the least by Abby breastfeeding. Honestly, it made her feel even better about their conversation of having a child. She knew she'd be supported.

"No, this will be his first time." Abby replied.

"Well, we will be sure to make it a good one." Caroline chuckled, standing up to take everyone's plates to the kitchen.

Bonnie helped her, following her into the kitchen.

"You guys are being very supportive, thank you." she said as she turned on the water to rinse the plates.

The blond leaned against the counter, "Well, I can't say I am thrilled the woman who hurt you the most is here, but, if you are giving her a chance, I am giving her a chance."

"Thanks, Care." she smiled a bit.

"If you decided to kick her to the curb, I will be there with my biggest boot." Caroline teased her, but Bonnie could tell from her eyes she was serious. She'd be there for her no matter what – just like Bonnie would be there for her no matter what. They were inseparable.

After they finished rinsing the dishes, everyone but Bonnie and Damon who were already dressed went to change out of their pajamas. Bonnie and Damon went to brush their teeth.

"You know, we should definitely come back here neck year." Damon said after he spit mouthwash into the sink.

Bonnie who was swishing some around in her mouth still just looked at him wide eyes, as she couldn't speak. After a minute she spit into the sink, and turned the water on to wash the sink out.

"Who says I'm still going to be married to you next year?" she teased, and he laughed, shoving her gently in the shoulder.

Bonnie smiled, "Yeah, maybe we should."

They headed back out to the main room, where everyone was getting their snow suits, hats, boots, and gloves on.

"Wrraarr!" Maddox came flying over at Damon, stopping in front of him.

"Well look at you." Damon chuckled, looking down at the boy who was dressed in his big blue snow suit, with his arms out to the sides, hat on his head.

"I'm puff!" the boy grinned, bouncing a little, "Puff, puff, puff."

Abby laughed, stepping over and swooping him up into her arms.

"Alright, lil puff, put your gloves on." she said, giving him his gloves, and he happily pulled them on all by himself.

"Good job." Abby kissed the side of his head, and headed back over to the door where Caroline and Stefan were.

Bonnie already had her stuff on, "Hurry up." she smirked at him.

Damon stuck his tongue out at her, and walked over to grab his things. After a few minutes they were all outside, carrying sleds and trekking through the snow to get to the flat of the hill where they could slide down as they had before.

"Snow! " Maddox yelled throwing his hands in the air and trying to wiggle his way out of his mothers arms.

"Whoa!" Abby laughed as he slipped from her grasp and fell into the snow below.

Maddox gasped, on his butt in the snow that now reached past the top of his head.

Damon chuckled, setting the sleds he was carrying down.

"I got you." he told the boy, lifting him out of the snow under his arms, and set him on one of the sleds.

He pulled Maddox along the hill by the rope on the sled until they reached the edge.

"Okay, just stay right there." Damon told him, keeping the top of his boot on part of the sled to keep him from sliding down.

However, while Damon turned his body a little to hand Bonnie her sled, Maddox pushed on Damon's foot with his hands and sent himself down the hill. He went sliding down the snowy slope, and let out a surprised squeal of a scream.

Caroline slapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. Abby however let out a laugh, and hurried onto her sled so she could reach the startled Maddox at the bottom of the hill.

Bonnie smiled, and carefully got onto her sled, but held out a hand to Damon. He smirked at her, and sat down behind her, placing his arms around her waist.

Bonnie used her hands to push them forward, and giggled as they went sliding down the slope, squeezing her eyes shut. Damon laughed, holding her tighter, and as they came to a skidding stop at the bottom, they nearly tumbled forwards into the snow.

"Ahhh!" Maddox was desperately trying to run through the snow himself, but he was covered up to his chest in some places.

"It's snow more!" he laughed, making his way over to Damon and Bonnie, having escaped his mother.

Abby chuckled, "There is no way we're gonna keep him above the snow I'm telling you that right now."

Caroline and Stefan came sliding down a few seconds later, both with their arms in the air.

"Race to the top!" Caroline said before anyone could even agree, and she grabbed onto her sled, running up the hill, though it was more a slow drudge.

"Hey!" Bonnie yelled after her.

"Sissy! Bomboms! Take me to top." Maddox's voice came from behind her as he pulled at the leg of her snowsuit.

Bonnie blinked, looking at him a little surprised; but, after a moment, she smiled a little, and pulled him up into her arms, grabbed the sled with her other hand, and started back up the hill. Damon smiled, watching his wife and his tiny brother-in-law make their way through the snow.

He turned his head to look over at Stefan who was still just watching after Caroline. Narrowing his eyes, he thought to himself for a few moments, then stepped over to his brother.

"You know, if you two are trying to hide something, it's not working." Damon told him, and when Stefan looked at him trying to mask nervousness with confusion, he knew he was right.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

Damon chuckled, shaking his head, and turning away from him, going up the hill with the sled Maddox had jacked from him the first time.

They spent several hours sledding, messing around, and falling in the snow. Maddox had the tedancy to try and run off because he was impatient. But Damon was the one to catch up to him most of the times. By the time they needed to get inside to get warm, Maddox was actually pretty pissed off at Damon for swooping him up every time he tried to crawl up the hill on his own.

"No!" the little boy squirmed, with a grumpy look on his face as they headed back to the house.

"It's cold buddy, we gotta get inside." Damon explained, but Maddox just frowned at him, and turned his head away from him dramatically.

Abby shook her head, "He's just tired."

"I'm not!" Maddox insisted, wide eyed.

Bonnie followed Damon and everyone else inside once the door was open. She was feeling pretty worn out herself. They'd gotten out of bed around eleven, and it had to be three in the afternoon already.

Once they got out of their snow clothing, Caroline, always the planner, asked everyone which hot beverage they wanted and headed into the kitchen. To no one's surprise, with Stefan trailing her.

Bonnie gave Damon a look, and he shrugged at her with a sly smile to which she rolled her eyes at. Something was going on between Stefan and Caroline. Bonnie wished Caroline would tell her, but, at the same time if they wanted to keep it between them, she couldn't be mad. It was their life.

"My hand are colds." Maddox said casually, wobbling over to Bonnie, to place his hands on her knee's.

She shivered, "Yes they are."

He started to climb up onto her legs like she was a mountain, grabbing at the bottom of her shirt to pull himself up. Bonnie pulled him up the rest of the way herself, so he didn't unintentionally pull her shirt a little to far down than she cared for anyone to see in that moment.

"You still mad at Damon?" Bonnie asked as he sat down on her lap, resting his head against her chest.

"I dun know." the boy replied rather gurgley as he put one of his hands in his mouth.

Damon chuckled as he sat on the other side of the couch watching them. Seeing them together sparked a sort of yearning in his chest. Bonnie was so caring, and kind, even to a little kid she hadn't known more than two days.

"Alright, drinks are ready." Stefan said, carrying a tray of mugs out to the living room after a few moments. Caroline followed behind him with a plate of sugar cookies.

Bonnie eyed them, knowing they'd probably made out in the kitchen. God, she wanted to talk to Caroline about it. Though, perhaps it was weird wanting to know about her best friend making out with her husbands brother; but.. for petes sake, it was _CAROLINE_. Bonnie _had_ to know.

"I made a sippy cup of warm cocoa for Maddox, so he wouldn't burn his little mouth." Caroline smiled sweetly as she knelt down to hand Maddox his cup.

Maddox turned his head towards her, and reached a hand out grabbing it, instantly putting it in his mouth. He then turned his attention back to laying against Bonnie.

"You're too sweet." Abby commented, picking up a mug of hot tea that was hers.

Everyone got their drinks, and while it was mostly quiet as they warmed up, they chatted idly here and there. Bonnie realized, this wasn't a awkward, or strange pass time, in fact it was kind of nice to actually have literally nothing dramatic to talk about. The only things exciting they had to talk about were really just mild common sense things about everyone's life, and whether it was going to be colder the next day than that day.

Everything was actually just calm for once.

Maddox had fallen asleep on Bonnie, nearly spilling his half full sippy cup on her.

"Oh, I'll take him to the bedroom." Abby said getting up, but Bonnie stood up first with Maddox in her arms.

"I can do it for you." she told her, and Abby nodded at her, giving her a thankful smile.

Bonnie headed to the other side of the house, Damon following behind her.

"Are you stalking me?" she whispered as she walked into the room Abby had taken, and laid Maddox down on the bed.

"Only a little." Damon replied, and when she turned around he was right behind her with a smirk on his face.

She chuckled softly, "Why exactly?"

He leaned in close to her, and pressed his lips to her nose softly. She giggled, trying to keep quiet so she didn't wake Maddox up.

"I just wanted to get you alone, so I could tell you how proud I am of you for getting along with your mother." Damon told her, brushing locks of hair behind her ear.

Bonnie smiled, face flushing with warmth, "That's the only reason you wanted to get me alone?" she cocked a curious eyebrow.

"Well, there may be other reasons." he smiled at her, his eyes glimmering.

Bonnie leaned in, and kissed his lips once.

"Unfortunately, probably not gonna happen tonight." she told him, "I've decided I want to have a nice, long, bonding conversation with my mother tonight."

Damon's eyes widened, "Wow, you think you can get through that?"

She hit him in the shoulder, and he snickered.

"Can you please, please, get everyone else out of the main room for me?" Bonnie asked him, tilting her head to the side.

He looked to the left, and then to the right for a moment, pursing his lips.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't hit me." Damon turned his head away from her, and closed his eyes.

Bonnie mock frowned, "Aww." she leaned in, and kissed the side of his face.

Damon opened his eyes, and looked back towards her, bobbing his head for a second.

"Alright, I'll do it." he agreed, and she laughed softly.

They both headed out back to the main room, and much to their 'surprise' Caroline and Stefan had already run off somewhere.

"I guess...my job has been done for me." Damon mumbled, wiggling an eyebrow at Bonnie.

She shook her head, "Okay, then, put some more wood in the fireplace, then...go away?"

Damon gave her a look, "You go away."

Bonnie bumped her hip into his, and he laughed, bumping her back. Abby looked over at them with a smile from the couch.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked them.

Damon moved away from Bonnie to grab some more wood from a corner of the room to put in the burning fireplace. Bonnie walked over to the couch, and sat down several feet away from her mother.

"Damon's going to give us some alone time so we can talk." she told her clearing her throat.

"Ohh." Abby said slowly, "Alright."

Damon tried to pretend like he wasn't listening as he put the wood in the fireplace. When he was done, he gave Bonnie a quick glance and then disappeared down the hallway.

Bonnie pursed her lips. Now that she had Abby alone, and was ready to talk, suddenly she had no idea where to start. She didn't want to bring up anything frustrating, but, she needed to face it, everything with her mother was bound to bring up some unpleasant emotions, at least until they actually got it off their chests.

Sighing, she stood up from the couch, and moved over to the fireplace, sitting down on the surrounding stone platform, rubbing her hands together. Abby followed her, sitting down a foot or so away from her.

"I know you are probably wondering a lot." her mother said slowly, looking at the side of her face.

Bonnie nodded, staring into the fire for a moment.

"Where did you go? Where have you been?" she asked quietly.

Abby looked away and into the fire the same as Bonnie, "I was in California for a few years." she told her, "Then I traveled around Australia, then to London. I stayed in London up until now."

Bonnie didn't want to ask her why she left. No answer would be good enough, and she knew the only possible answers that there were, none would make anything different.

"Why did you stay in London?" she asked, "Was it for your fiance?"  
"It was, for the most part." Abby said quietly, moving to sit with her legs cross cross.

Bonnie felt like she should be asking more important questions, or even being angry with Abby, but, when it came down to it, the part of her who cared about her mother, just wanted to know what her life had been like the last thirteen years. She felt like a part of herself was missing, she needed to know what was going on her Abby's life while she was away. It might hurt her, she knew that, but she just wanted, needed to know.

"Who is your fiance? How did you meet?" Bonnie asked, turning her head to look at Abby.

"You don't have to ask about him if it makes you uncomfortable." she said.

Bonnie shook her head.

"I want to know, I need to know you, I feel like I don't know you." she whispered, pulling her legs up to her chest, and wrapping her arms around them.

Abby inhaled slowly, "My fiance is Mikael Michaelson, we met for the first time before you were even born."

She looked at her mother curiously.

"We're you together...when you with dad?" Bonnie questioned, not sure she really wanted that answer.

"No, I assure you weren't." she shook her head, "When we met it was just once. Mikael was critiquing the ballet I was in, afterward he came to me, and told me how beautifully I danced. I didn't see him again, until we ran into each other in London six years ago."

Bonnie just looked at her, listening, unsure of what to say.

"I distanced myself from him for a year or so. When I left...you, I didn't feel I deserved to be close to anyone." Abby explained, "However, Mikael, somehow managed to make his way into my heart. I didn't want to have anymore children though, I couldn't think about it without thinking of you. When I got pregnant with Maddox, at first I was a mess. Then, they told me I was having...a boy, this, little boy, and something changed. Maddox is so full of happiness, I could feel it. I wanted you to feel it, I wanted you to meet your brother."

Abby's eyes were a bit wet, and Bonnie tried to look away, to ignore her own emotions building up inside her chest. It was a difficult feat.

"I stopped loving your father, I never stopping loving you." she told her daughter, trying to get through to her, though she knew she could only do what she could do.

"I felt like you didn't love me, when you left, I felt like you had ripped my heart out of my chest." Bonnie whispered, water pooling in her eyes, "I could care less about you leaving my father, but, you left me. Leaving a husband is one thing, leaving a child is completely different."

Abby moved closer to her.

"It is completely different, you think I don't realize that? When I told your father I wasn't in love with him anymore, it hurt me, but when I felt you behind, it nearly killed me. I knew your father would never let me go, I told him to let me go, I wanted to just divorce him, but I knew it wouldn't work. Your father has a good heart, but Rudy would have never stopped trying to force something that wasn't there, Bonnie, I couldn't live like that." her voice was rough, and she wanted to reach a hand out to touch Bonnie's shoulder, but she restrained herself.

"Yet you could live without your daughter?" Bonnie asked, several tears dripping along her cheeks.

Abby looked at her with pain filled eyes mirroring hers.

"It wasn't easy, a huge piece of my heart has been missing since the day I left you. I don't want you to be angry with me, but I know why you are." she whispered.

Bonnie sighed, wiping at her face quickly.

"I am angry. I'm angry because I love you, but I just..." she shook her head.

"Well, whether you want me to stay in your life, or not, I'll understand. I'm glad you are talking to me." Abby told her, tilting her head to the side.

Bonnie nodded, just looking into the fire for a moment. There was something weighing on her, it felt stupid, and she sort of felt like she shouldn't even be talking to Abby about it, but, who else was she going to talk to about it? Abby was one of the main witness in the failing marriage between Rudy and her.

"I... I'm worried Damon and I might fall out, like dad and you did." she said slowly, eyes flickering down to look at the stones.

"You won't." Abby told her, and Bonnie looked over at her, not having to even ask 'how do you know?' with her words, her eyes said it enough.

"I can tell by the way Damon looks at you. Your father never looked at me that way, even when he loved me." she continued.

Bonnie swallowed hard, resting her chin on top of her knees. She felt like a teenager, worried about a boy, and talking to her mother about it. But, it was a much deeper situation. She wasn't a girl, Damon wasn't a boy, they were adults, and they were married. The nervousness she felt was much more intense than if they weren't already married. Damon's parents marriage was a disaster, her parents marriage was a disaster. Her worried were justified.

"I'm just worried." she told her, "I fell in love with him so quickly... I've never thought it was supposed to be that way. In the real world people just don't fall in love that quickly. People fall slowly, they don't dive right into the deep."

Abby chuckled just a little, "Who says? Who says it's supposed to be that way. You can't stop your heart from diving in, and why would want too?"

She blinked, looking over at her mother, and nodded a little.

"I guess you're right." Bonnie said quietly.

"This is real life, Bonnie. If you're in love with him, you're in love with him." she told her, and for one of the first times since Abby's return, they actually felt the emotional gap between them, lessen.

After a few moments, they were just sitting in silence, so Bonnie decided to go help Damon get their things packed to leave the next day. When she walked lazily into the bedroom, he was lying on his back on the bed, balancing an empty suitcase on his feet.

"What the..." she said throwing him a weird look.

She apparently started him because he jerked a little bit, and the suitcase went tumbling downwards, just missing his head, landing behind it.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie laughed, closing the door behind her, walking over to sit on the bed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Damon cleared his throat, sitting up and placing his hands in his lap.

She eyed him amused, and then rested her chin in one of her hands.

"How did the talk go?" he asked.

Bonnie pursed her lips, leaning forward on the bed a little tapping her hands on the duvet.

"Uh, it went...probably how you thought it went." she replied.

He could see the redness in her eyes, and slight puffiness under her eyes, but he didn't mention it. If she didn't want to talk about it right then, or ever, he wasn't going to press on it.

Damon scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her, and pressing his forehead against her hair.

"I am extremely proud of you, have I told you that?" he whispered into her ear.

She smiled a bit, "Several times."

"Want me to stop telling you?" Damon teased, tilting his face down, kissing along her ear.

Bonnie closed her eyes, leaning into his arms more, "Mmm, no way."

"We should get things packed." he said slowly, nuzzling her face.

She groaned, he was right, but, she certainly didn't want him to be.

"At least we'll be home tomorrow." Damon told her, kissing her cheek.

Bonnie smiled, and pulled away from him slowly, turning her face towards his and kissing his lips gently. She then slid off the bed, and onto her feet.  
"Alright." she clapped her hands once, "No more playing with the suitcase Mr, we have to pack."

Bonnie pointed her finger at him, and he smiled, standing up quickly.

"Yes ma'am." Damon said sternly, and as he walked around her he tapped her on the ass.

She giggled, grabbing the suitcase off the bed and opening it.

Sometime later, they had everything except what they would the next day packed. Damon was lying in bed, arm over his face, moving his feet a little bit to the music they had playing in the room.

Bonnie saw her phone light up from across the room on the dresser, and walked over to see who it was. She say Lily was calling, and guessed she must've listened to her voice mail. She grabbed her phone, and looked back at Damon before walking into the bathroom where it was quieter and closing the door.

"Hello." she said when she answered the phone, leaning up against the counter of the sink.

"Hey, I got your message." Lily told her, "Is everything alright?"

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Yeah, I...just wanted to make sure you were okay."

There was a brief silence.

"I'm about alright as possible." she replied, and Bonnie nodded.

"Well, that's good." Bonnie pursed her lips, feeling a little awkward.

"You sure everything is alright?" Lily questioned.

She sighed, "I guess. My mother is here.. I really don't want to talk about her right now though."

"You can talk to me when you get back if you like, I'll still be at the estate." her mother-in-law told her, and her lips pulled up at the corners a little.

"Yeah, sure I'd like that." Bonnie agreed.

She could tell by Lily's voice she wasn't exactly okay either, and she couldn't blame her with everything that had happened. Her husband was gone, and she was afraid to be at her own apartment.  
The troubles of one were, the troubles of many. That's how it was as a family she realized – and she actually had a family now. She really did have a family...

* * *

The next day, though they all wanted to get back too Virginia, none of them wanted to make the long ride home... Abby and Maddox had left about an hour before them, Bonnie was unsure where in Virginia her mother was staying, but, she had given her, her phone number. Bonnie wasn't sure when she wanted to see her again. Their talk from the night before had already taken a lot emotionally out of her.  
Bonnie, Caroline, Damon, and Stefan all took turns driving as they had when they drove up. It was rather quiet, since, they didn't have much to say to each other. Stefan and Caroline were busy trying to pretend they weren't sucking each others faces off whenever they were alone. Bonnie wasn't saying much, as she knew all she had to say was about her mother, and she couldn't bring herself to talk about it yet. When Damon wasn't driving he was in the back seat, letting Bonnie rest her head on him, watching her, and wishing he could take some of the emotional pain away from her.

He felt as though, while Bonnie reuniting with her mother could be good in the long wrong for them as a family, right now it was hurting her, and he hated that. They dropped Caroline off at her apartment, getting to the Salvatore family estate pretty later in the evening. Unlike the first time, they hadn't stopped at a motel, and just drove straight there with occasional snack and restroom stops.

"You want me to wake her up?" Stefan asked, referring to Bonnie who had fallen asleep in the back seat with her head against the window.

Damon pulled some of their luggage out of the truck.

"No, I'll do it after we get everything inside." he told his brother.

They hauled all the suitcases inside, and Damon carried his and Bonnie's upstairs with Wayne's help.

Afterward, Damon went back out to the car, where Bonnie was still asleep. Opening the door, he unbuckled her seat belt, and gently lifted her out of the car into his arms. Pushing the door closed with his knee, he walked with her slowly into the house. Once they got through the door, she started to stirr in his arms, so he stopped before they got to the stairs.

"Mmmhm." she mumbled, her eyelids opening, "Are you carrying me?"

He chuckled, "Yes, you fell asleep I didn't want to wake you up."

Bonnie smiled a little bit, rolling her head back against his forearm.

"Unfortunately I'm awake now." she said yawning a little bit at the end, shifting her legs.

"You were so cute." Damon teased her, slowly setting her down onto her feet.

Bonnie rubbed at her eyes, and he looked at her curly hair, a mess around her head.

"You're still cute." he whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Damon stepped back to close and lock the front door. Stepping back over, he placed his hands on the side of her face.

"You should go upstairs and sleep if you want." he said, and she placed her hands over top of his.

"I was gonna take a bath when we got here." Bonnie told him.

A small smile tugged at his lips, and he slid a hand down to her waist, pulling her closer.

"Why don't I go run a bath for _us_ , and you go get a glass of wine for you?" Damon suggested.

She pursed her lips, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You won't, it's alright. I want you to relax." he assured her.

Bonnie nodded at him, so he let go of her face slowly, and made his way up stairs. She turned and head into the kitchen were Wayne was.

"Wayne, do you know where any of the wine is? I know some was kept when he cleared a lot of the alcohol a while ago." she asked the man.

"Oh, yes, of course Mrs. Bonnie." he smiled, "I'll be right back with a bottle, red or white?"

Bonnie, narrowed her eyes thinking.

"Red, thank you." she told him, and watched him leave the room.

She remembered wanting to talk to Lily once she got home. Stretching her arms above her head, she took a breath, waking up more than she had been before. When Wayne got back, Bonnie had grabbed to flute glasses from a cabinet, and was patently standing leaning against a counter.

"Here you are." Wayne said as opened the glass bottle, and poured some into both of the glasses.

"Mrs. Lily Salvatore is upstairs in her bedroom if you are looking for her." he added, nearly reading her mind.

This made he chuckle. Wayne was so helpful, she made a mental note to learn more about him, his story of how he'd came to work for the family.

"Thank you." she smiled wide at him.

"Oh, and the new maid Lily hired, Daniel, starts after the New Year." he told her.

She blinked, having forgotten that Wayne had been kindly doing all the cleaning since Alice was put in prison. Thank God honestly that Lily had hired a new maid. Bonnie would've totally forgotten, and she couldn't imagine how difficult it was to clean that entire house when it isn't technically your job.

"That's great... Thanks again, Wayne. Why don't you have some wine as well?"

When he smiled, and gave her a polite nod, Bonnie walked out of the room carrying the glasses. Making her way up the stairs, she looked down at the glasses to make sure she wasn't splashing any of the contents out of them.

She got to Lily's bedroom door, and very carefully used the side of her foot to rap on the door. After a moment, she heard Lily say, "Come in."

"I'm gonna need you to open the door for me." Bonnie chuckled lowly.

The door opened very moments later. Lily was dressed in red pajamas, her dark hair tied up in a pony tail, with no makeup. Honestly, she looked younger without make up. She was in her early forties, but didn't look at least a day over thirty two.

"I brought some wine for us." Bonnie told her, holding the glasses up a little higher with a small smile on her face.

She was worried even though Lily said they could talk when she got home, she wasn't going to want to sit and talk with her. They hadn't gotten off the best foot, and after everything that had happened, what exactly did that mean for the development of their mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship?

"Oh, I'm glad you got home safe. Come in and sit." Lily said with a small smile; but, she didn't look too fantastic.

Her eyes were a bit sad, the bruises along her face were nearly healed, but she looked tired, not physically but emotionally. Bonnie stepped into the room, Lily closing the door behind her.

"Just on the bed." she told her.

Bonnie walked over, sitting on the end of the bed, waiting for Lily to come over and sit beside her.

Lily sat down, and grabbed one of the glasses she handed to her.

"So, your mother showed up, up north?" the woman asked, taking a small sip of wine.

Bonnie nodded. "Yes. Not just her either. I have a little brother."

"Really? I can't imagine that was easy for you to process." she replied, her blue eyes widening just a bit.

Bonnie chuckled, lifting her flute glass and taking a drink of the wine, swishing it around in her mouth for a moment before swallowing.

"I'm still trying to process it honestly." she told her, crossing her legs.

Lily nodded, showing her a look of understanding as she sipped from her glass again.

"I'm still processing a lot as well. Having a husband one day, none the next. Being abused one day, safe the next. It's all very conflicting when you care about someone, even if they hurt you." she sighed, resting her glass on her knee as she looked down.

"Giuseppe meant to hurt you, though. I don't think my mother intended to hurt me." Bonnie furrowed her bow.

Her mother-in-law pursed her lips for a second.

"None the less, we are both hurt." Lily looked up at her, tapping her finger lightly on her glass.

Bonnie nodded, her eyes shifting from the women for a moment as she thought about that.

"In the end, the intention of ones actions hold no baring." she continued, keeping her eyes on Bonnie, "When someone is hurting they are hurting, and someone cannot use intention as an excuse to downgrade pain."

"That's very wise, Lily." Bonnie said slowly, looking back over at her, "Any words on forgiveness?" she chuckled.

Lily smiled a bit, "I could say if you love someone forgive them; but, there are two kinds of forgiveness." she looked away from Bonnie as she thought more, "If someone is not good for you, you can chose to forgive them, but not let them back into your life. This makes the pain they caused easier to let go... If you truly believe someone is good for you, you can chose to forgive them, and let them back in – this giving you room to develop."

"Do you chose to forgive Giuseppe, but let him go?" she asked curiously.

"Yes." she nodded, "Not because I love him, but because I love myself."

Lily looked back over at Bonnie and smiled, then took a slow breath.

"I can't tell you what to do with your mother. All I can do is tell you to do what's best for you."

Bonnie smiled back at her, and switched the hand her glass was in to wrap one of her arms around Lily. She squeezed her gently, and a one armed hug was returned with a chuckle.

The bedroom door opened, and Damon was standing there. He blinked, a little surprised to see them hugging with wine glasses, or even in the same room at all and not glaring at each other. He had forgotten how much his mother had changed since Bonnie was in the coma.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can leave you two alone if you want?" he said, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

"No, it's alright, I'll be there in a second." Bonnie told him, and watched as he walked away.

She stood up, finishing the wine in her glass.

"I'd love to talk about this more later." she told Lily, who nodded and took her empty glass from her politely.

"Of course, you can talk to me anytime." Lily said with a small smile.

Bonnie turned around, walking out of the bedroom, and into Damon and her room. She sighed, closing the door behind her. As much as she wanted her own house with Damon, she actually did miss this room. Strange how someplace could actually grow to feel home, but you don't notice it until you're away.

"You doing alright?" Damon said from the bathroom, she could hear him turning off the water.

"About as alright as I can be, honestly." she replied, slipping off her shoes and making her way to the bathroom.

When she got into the room, Damon had already stripped naked, and was sitting in the bathtub, with his head leaned back so he could look at her upside down. She had to admit, it was a pretty damn good looking site, and did cheer her up a bit. The bubbles in the bath covered his lower half, and some of his torso, but his chest and arms were visible, though a little soapy.

"Come here, let me hold you." he said, in the most innocent, adorable voice she'd ever heard.

How was it even possible to be so adorable, and devilishly handsome all at the same time?

Her face flushed a bit, and closed the bathroom door before slowing undressing. When all her clothing was on the floor, she stepped into the bathtub, and placed herself on his lap facing him.

Damon's arms went around her body, and he ran his fingers along her back slowly.

"Tell me what's on your mind." he whispered, letting her rest her head against his shoulder.

Bonnie sighed, closing her eyes as she ran her nose along the skin of his shoulder, the hot water and the feel of him holding her was already making her feel better. Maybe she just needed some time to relax, and push everything else out of her mind for a night, or two.

"Could we maybe not talk?" she asked quietly.

He ran one of his hands up a little from her back, tangling it in the hair along the nape of her neck gently.

"Of course." Damon whispered, and turned his head a little to kiss the side of her face.

He knew from the second he saw Abby at the door up north that her presence was going upset Bonnie in one way or another. She might have agreed to give her a chance, and talk to her, but that didn't mean everything was all fine and dandy all the sudden. Honestly, while Damon had always thought most people deserved second chances, he also wasn't to keen on his wife being distressed.

Slowly, he drug handfuls of water up her back with one of his hands, wetting as much of her hair as he could while not disturbing her position of lying against him. After a few second he got water in both of his hands cupped together, and lifted them to pour it over the top of her head.

A small laugh managed to come from Bonnie's lips as the water dripped onto her face.

"What are you doing?" she asked, amused.

"Washing your hair." he replied casually, and very gently urged her to turn around, sitting with her back against his chest.

By the time he had gotten all of her hair wet enough to put shampoo in it, most of the bubbles had dissolved into the water, and it was getting more luke-warm than hot; but she didn't care.

Damon poured her shampoo into his hands, and lathered it in his palms before slowly massaging it into her hair, starting at the roots. Her lips turned up at the corners a bit as he started to hum very softly.  
If Damon was any other man, she'd think he was trying to get something out of this for himself; but, with him she didn't feel like that. Though, if she wasn't so tired, she wouldn't object to _getting something_ – but she didn't feel like that was his intention.

"You're so sweet." she whispered, and Damon's humming ceased, replaced by a low chuckle.

"To you, _la mia_ _dolcezza_." he replied, and leaned down to kiss her face.

He didn't stop with one kiss though, he started kissing her face readily, and then made a growling noise as he play bit at her neck and shoulder. This caused her to laugh and shift in his lap, leaning her head back, water splashing.

"Ah!" she giggled, and soap from her hair smeared around on both their faces as he bit at her face.

"Shit!" he laughed, tilted his head up and putting a hand over one of his eyes, "My eye."

Bonnie laughed but, then turned around to look at him.

"That's what you get." she teased, and he opened his mouth, giving her a mock look of disbelief.

Damon rubbed at his eye, which didn't help the matter any.

"You're mean." he grumbled, and turned his face away from hers.

She raised her eyebrows, and put both of her hands on his face, "Aww."

Bonnie turned his face back to hers and kissed his closed eye several times.

"There, all better." she chuckled, and he looked at her with one eye open, the one he'd gotten soap in squeezed shut.

"Oh, yeah, definitely." Damon said slowly, "I just might need a new eye."

Bonnie snickered, and he shook his head at her, but smirked crookedly.

Not long later, they had finished their bath, and gotten out of the tub. After drying off, combing their hair, and brushing their teeth, the usual, they were settled in their pajamas on the bed. It was nice to be back in their bed at home, even if they would much rather have a home that was just theirs. Then again, part of having a home was being with everyone you cared about in one place. Maybe not all the time though, sometimes you needed a break.

For now their quiet room, lying in the dark, the only light the moonlight shining through the patio doors, would be the place to take a break.

"I might invite Abby to the New Years party." Bonnie mentioned as she crawled underneath the blanket, leaning against the headboard.

She really didn't want to think about her mother right then, but, New Years was only a few days away, so she thought she would at least tell Damon, even if she ended up changing her mind. As well as see what he thought. He'd been pretty quiet about her mother since they got home, and she knew that was because he didn't want to make anything worse. As if he could.

"And..." she started, remembering something that had crossed her mind, "I was thinking of contacting Kai, inviting him. I know he wanted to see me at the hospital, and with everything going on I would really like to get some things off my chest, clear some of the past."

Bonnie watched Damon carefully, looking down at him as he laid on his back, trying to gauage his reaction. Damon knew what things she needed to tell Kai, at least he knew the main thing. He still sighed though, running a hand over his face thinking.

"I just want to make sure you're alright with that." Bonnie told him, tilting her head to the side, her damp hair brushing along her shoulder.

"Well..." he exhaled moving his hand away from his face, "While I am not a fan of anyone who hurts you, I can't in good conscious keep you from inviting him, especially if you feel you will benefit from talking to him."

Bonnie smiled a little,"And...about my mother?"

Damon chuckled weakly, "Same answer."

She slid down to lay down with her face pressing against his shoulder, looking at him in the dim light.

"You can say what you're thinking, you know, I won't bite you." she lifted a hand to place it on his bare chest, tapping her splayed fingers.

He raised an eyebrow, "What if I want you to?"

She giggled, squeezing her eyes closed for a moment.

"I'm serious!" Bonnie shook her head.

"So am I." Damon chuckled, and then sighed, knowing he should tell her how he felt in more depth towards the situation.

Their first Christmas had gone good for the most part, nothing extremely horrible had happened, and they did have Giuseppe being locked away as something to be happy about. There was just this, weight of Abby hanging over them, and now Rudy was also having problems with Bonnie, and since Damon was married to her, they also had problems with him...

"Okay, brutal honesty here...I'm not sure I trust Abby, I don't think you should've let her stay, but made your father leave, and I think it was forward of her to bring Maddox, though, he is one hell of a little dude, don't get me wrong." he told her looking at the ceiling, "I don't really agree with you not talking to your father, but letting Abby back in. I get it, though."

Bonnie furrowed her brow, and her eyes flickered down a little bit, she was quiet.

Damon exhaled, "Am I in trouble?" he asked, and slid his hand over on top of hers that was on his chest.

"No..." she sighed, "Your opinion is valid, thank you for telling me." There was more to what she wanted to say, but she knew it was all crap her tired and annoyed mind was tossing around. There was no need to be mean when he was just telling her what he thought.

"I need to hear what you think." Bonnie added, closing her eyes and turning her face a bit, her nose against his skin.

Damon moved his hand over to her face, running his fingers along her cheek gently.

"Hey.." he whispered, "I want you to do what is best for _you_. You're the one who knows what's best for you. I'm just here to walk with you, and catch you if you fall."

He slid his other arm underneath her body, and around her waist, pulling her upwards, rolling her on top of him in one swift motion. Both of his arms going around her, her head laid on his opposite shoulder.

"Thank you." she said softly, relaxing in his arms.

"And tell you when you're being crazy." he added, and that invoked a laugh from her, which made him smile.

"I'm here for you too." Bonnie told him, her toes rubbing against his calves, "Forever."

Damon smiled, "Eternity."

It was quiet for a moment as she thought, wanting to bring something else up, but was unsure. Damon was relaxed, and they were sleepy, maybe she should've brought it up at another time. But, it was a little late for that, her mouth was already opening.

"On the topic of people who have hurt us..." she said slowly, "I know you've been avoiding talking about Enzo."

Damon's body tensed underneath her, but she took a breath and continued talking after a moment.

"...but, he was your best friend. It's alright for you to miss him, be upset."

He inhaled, and then exhaled, letting his body relax again, and slid his hand up along her hair.

"I am upset, and I do miss him." Damon admitted, "I'm not sure if we could ever make up though."

Enzo had really been his best friend, like a brother to him. He was closer to Enzo than he was even with Stefan. Before Bonnie, Enzo was the person he was closest too. They knew everything about each other, Enzo was there for Damon. Until he wasn't. It was more heartbreaking than he wanted to admit. Thanks to his father. Who had imprinted the idea that emotion was weakness, and weakness made you worthless. Damon just couldn't express how much Enzo had hurt him as much as he wanted to express it. There was a minor emotional block. Being with Bonnie had chipped a lot of it away, but not completely.

"That's alright." Bonnie whispered, "I just want to make sure you know, you can talk about it. We both know well enough how sideways things go if you don't."

Damon held her a little tighter, "Thank you, my heart." he whispered back, turning his head to kiss the top of hers.

She smiled, and nuzzled his neck softly, then almost like her mind was a vault of treasure, another thought popped into her head.

"Oh!" Bonnie chuckled, "Uh, I heard a while ago, about the law suit, with Mystic Falls General?"

Damon blinked, not remembering telling her about that, and in all honesty he probably should have. There had just been so much going on when that started. He almost didn't want to think about her being in the hospital. That was the worst few weeks of his life, seeing her like that.

"I damn near forgot about that." he mumbled, "I decided not to go through with it. We have enough to deal with, and we don't really need the money anyway."

As much as he wanted to blame someone, and knew he could blame someone for Bonnie being in a coma, he didn't want to sue the hospital, all they'd get out of it was money. Plus, his blame really tracked to Giuseppe, and he'd gotten what he wanted, him in prison.

"Yeah, let's just, put it in the past." she agreed, running her hand along his opposite shoulder slowly.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of her fingers against his skin. Her touch always made him feel better. If he hadn't believed in fate before meeting her, he sure as hell did now.

"I love you." Damon told her sleepily, his right hand sliding downwards running along her ass.

"I love you too." Bonnie smiled against his shoulder, her face flushing happily as his hand ran up, and down repeatedly, along the curve of her bottom slowly.

* * *

 **Thursday December 31** **st** **, New Years Eve**

Staff was buzzing along the house as they finished getting the party ready. Light classical music played throughout, at a more upbeat pace than Damon's birthday party, but smooth none the less. Most of the parties for New Years Bonnie had been to included techno, sweaty guys and wet t-shirt contests...

Bonnie didn't miss those at all. She'd never been a huge fan of the stereotypical college kid party.  
In the Salvatore estate, she felt more sophisticated. Not that she wasn't an advocate for having fun in general. She just wasn't about getting shit-faced, and nude in front of people.

Dozens of guests were already arriving, and Damon was already downstairs as Bonnie finished getting ready... She made her way down the spiral staircase wearing an ankle length white halter neck dress, with silver heals, her hair straightened framing her face.

A lot of the female guests she saw were wearing silver, sparkly blues. Bonnie however decided to be minimalist, she didn't need to look like a disco ball.

It was around nine thirty, the sun having set, and Damon was standing in the main room, greeting guests. His eyes flickered over to Bonnie as she stepped off the stairs. Those blue eyes dragging from the top of her, all the way to her feet, and a smile spread across her face.

" _Ciao, bella._ " he said, taking her hand as she got to him, and pulling her closer to kiss her cheek.

Bonnie smiled, turning her head to kiss his lips once, and threading her fingers with his. She eyed him in his black and white suit, his black hair combed neatly to the side, clean shaven.

"You look handsome." she told him, turning to stand beside him, their hands in between them.

"Hey!" Caroline's voice came from beside them, and within seconds she was in front of them, bright white smile, blonde hair in loose curls around her head. She was a living light bulb, everything looked more cheerful with her around.

"Care, you look gorgeous." Bonnie smiled.

She was more nervous than she was letting on. Abby was going to be there, and Kai might possibly be there. Bonnie wasn't sure about Kai. She'd gone through Luke to get a hold of him, not able to speak to him directly. She was starting to wonder if she was making the best choice. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the slight anxiety pulling at her chest.

Her eyes flickered over across the room as Caroline said something to Damon about his suit. Stefan was standing there, looking at Caroline. Bonnie smiled a little, and turned her head back to her best friend.

"I think someone is waiting for you." Bonnie chuckled, and motioned with her free hand.

Caroline looked behind her shoulder, and her face flushed a light pink. She still hadn't spoken to Bonnie about what was going on between them.

"I know you two have something going on." she said, "Go over to him, it's fine."

Damon smirked a little, and watched as Caroline gave them both a apologetic, nervous look and turned around to go to Stefan.

"You think they'll go official tonight?" Damon asked Bonnie, turning to look at her.

"I don't know." she replied, "I think they might just be having fun."

Bonnie was definitely going to make some time after New Years to talk to Caroline. She was dying to know what was going on, and yeah, she didn't wanna force her nose into it, but, shit, man, she wanted to know!

"Tell that to Stefan." he said quietly, "He's looking at her like she's the Queen.", eyes flickering back over to them.

"Are you worried about your little brother?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head to the side, teasing him a bit.

Damon rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pants pockets, "Maybe."

She shook her head with a small smile as more people walked in, and after a few moments, she took Damon's hand and led him through the room, down the hallway to the ballroom where everyone else was heading. Per their request, alcohol wasn't being circulated the usual way, on trays to everyone. Instead, people would need to go to the bar set up on one side of the room and ask for it. This was to make Damon more comfortable, and really anyone else who didn't need the temptation of it being passed out.

"Where's your mother?" Bonnie asked, looking around.

Damon licked at his lips for a second, "She decided to go celebrate with one of her friends. She's not ready to be around a bunch of people just yet."

She raised her eyebrows, and nodded, "Oh, well, I get it..." she sighed, "I'm a little nervous myself."

"Well, at any point if it's too much, say the word, and we'll ditch this shindig." he chuckled, squeezing her hand gently.

After about ten, or fifteen minutes of socializing, Bonnie was looking around to see if her mother was there. Sure enough as her eyes shifted around the room again, she caught site of Abby. She was dressed nicely in a navy blue long sleeve dress that reached her knees. Beside her was who Bonnie assumed was her fiance Mikael.

"Abby!" Bonnie called just loud enough to catch her attention through the sound of talking, and the violins.

Abby looked over at her, pulled a little on the man beside hers arm, and they headed over. As they stopped in front of Bonnie and Damon, she could that the man was a few inches shorter than Damon, but nearly six foot. He had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders. He couldn't have been more than forty years old.

"Bonnie, Damon, thank you so much for inviting us." Abby said, letting of the mans hand.

"You're welcome." Bonnie replied, avoiding saying 'thank you for coming' as she wasn't sure if it was a good thing yet.

Damon linked his fingers with Bonnie's again to comfort her.

"Mikael, this is my daughter Bonnie, and her husband Damon. Bonnie, Damon, this is my fiance Mikael." she introduced them.

Mikael out stretched a hand towards Damon.

"It's nice to meet you both." he said, as Damon shook his hand firmly, and then he offered a hand to Bonnie.

Bonnie just looked at his hand for a second, suddenly forgetting what she was supposed to do.  
Mikael didn't seem to be too offended by her not shaking his hand, as he just put it back at his side, and smiled politely.

"This is such a beautiful home." Abby said after a moment of awkward silence, her eyes flickering upwards towards the chandeliers.

"Thank you, the Salvatore's back in the 1860's had it built. It has had some renovations of course." Damon replied, shoving his free hand into his pocket.

Abby nodded, slipping her hand back into Mikaels, she seemed just as nervous as Bonnie.

"Of course." she smiled, "I would really like to, talk more, but, I think I'm gonna need a drink first."

Bonnie chuckled a little, she honestly could use one too, but had decided to stay sober to support Damon.

"Understandable." Damon smiled a bit, "You both go ahead."

Mikael and Abby gave them one more glance before walking away, and disappearing into the crowd of guests.

Bonnie exhaled slowly, her cheeks puffing up a bit.

"Let''s dance." he suggested, and spun Bonnie around to face him quicker than she could blink. His hands went to her waist.

A small laugh came from her as she was surprised, and her arms wrapped around his neck, she stepped even closer. He always knew what to say, and do when she was distressed. It was like a gift. Then again, he could say the same things about her.

He pulled her even closer, and let her lay her head against his shoulder, and started to sway them side to side. Damon tilted his head downwards near her ear.

"Oh, my love, my darling." he started to sing softly, ignoring the actual music playing in the background, "I've hungered for your touch, a long lonely time; and, time goes by so slowly, and time can do so much."

Bonnie smiled a little as he sang.

"Are you still mine?" he sang a little dramatically, and she laughed, shaking her head, closing her eyes.

"That's not even the song playing." she whispered.

"Oh well." he breathed.

Damon continued, his hand sliding along the small of her back, "I need your love, I need your love. God speed your love to me."

Bonnie smiled, biting at her bottom lip, and just relaxed, listening to his voice. Suddenly, in this moment she decided Unchained Melody was _their song_. At least one of them.

So, they just danced, for at least twenty minutes, and finally Damon got pulled away by several guests. Bonnie still had a smile on her face, and she was a little giddy, just dancing with Damon, listening to his voice had made her feel better.

Her eyes flickered over to where he was, and as the people that were talking to him looked away for a moment, he mouthed _,'God speed your love to me'._

Bonnie giggled silently, pressed her fingers to her chest, and then waved them outwards at him. Damon lifted a hand, and mimed catching what she had waved at him. She grinned, and then turned around to look for her mother.

She was actually in a good mood to talk to her.

However, within seconds this mood shifted entirely. Bonnie almost choked when she saw who was standing across the room, his arm linked with some brunettes.

Enzo.

"Oh, hell..." she exhaled, seeing him crossing the room, and she quickly turned back around.

Damon wasn't there, he'd moved, and she looked around again for him. He was not going to be happy about this. Why the hell was Enzo there? No one had invited him. He must have gotten himself as one of the invited quests plus one.

"Kai." Bonnie whispered, seeing him standing on the other side of the room as well, dressed in a bluish tinted suit, his facial hair longer than she'd ever seen it while she knew him. Exhaling she decided she was not ready to talk to him right that second.

All in a second as she turned back around, having no place else to walk except towards the bar, her mood went crashing straight to the ground, quicker than it had arrived.

Lucia.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" she said aloud, startling the people who were near her.  
She shot them an apologetic look and her eyes shifted from the tall blond that was Damon's ex.

Bonnie turned around quickly, having no where else to go, and she didn't see Damon. Where was he?  
Her chest was hurting, and she walked forward Kai's way, he was the only person out of the three she didn't want to avoid completely.

Her head getting a little dizzy as she worked to avoid Lucia and Enzo, she stopped in front of Kai.

"Kai." she said, a little breathlessly.

"Bonnie." he replied, a smile pulling at his lips, but it faded when he noticed the look on her face, and her hands shaking.

"A-Are you alright?" Kai questioned, having wanted to ask her other things, say other things, after all it had been a while since they'd really seen each other. He had things he wanted to apologize for. However, he instantly decided that could wait.

Bonnie swallowed hard, "I...Yeah, I'm.." she exhaled, "Not really. I'm sorry, I want to talk to you, but, I just, I can't right now."

He looked at her with wide worried blue-gray eyes, restraining himself from reaching out to touch one of her arms.

"If, if you leave your number with Wayne, the butler, I'll call you. I want to talk about some things, but, tonight isn't a good night. I'm sorry." she said quickly, and grabbed at the skirt of her dress so she could get out of the room faster.

Kai's hand brushed against her elbow as she walked around him. Damon had been looking for Bonnie as well after finally getting set free from the people talking to him. All he saw was the back of her as she hurried out of the ballroom.

Damon excused himself when someone else tried to talk to him, and got out of the ballroom as quickly as possible. He didn't see her going down the hallway, so he figured she was already upstairs if she wasn't in the main room.

He hurried up the staircase, and when he opened their bedroom door, Bonnie was sitting on the bed with her face in her hands.

"What happened?" he asked, closing the door.

Bonnie inhaled deeply, standing up from the bed, her hands shaking, her heart beating so hard in her chest that it hurt. She'd kicked her heels off, and tears were already streaming down her face, smearing her mascara.

"I..." she exhaled shakily, "Enzo is here did you know that?" she asked, and his eyes widened.

"No, wha-" Damon started, confused, stepping closer to her as she started to shake even harder.

"Lucia is here too." Bonnie started, "I.. I can't breathe, oh my god."

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to take deep breaths as she panicked.

"Lucia? What the hell?" he shook his head, his head spinning when she told him this. He really didn't understand why she was there. Enzo he could understand, maybe he wanted to apologize, or, fuck he didn't know. But Lucia? He thought he had made it clear he didn't want to see her. Why on earth would she show up at his party?

"Kai is here too, and I-I want to talk to him but, I just can't right now." she rubbed at her face.

Damon stepped closer, and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, not sure what he was supposed to say.

After a moment, Bonnie suddenly pulled away from him, and moved over to the dresser like her feet were on fire, rummaging through her drawer.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked, watching as she pulled a pair of jeans out of the drawer, hopped into them underneath her dress.

Bonnie was still breathing heavily as she grabbed a pair of sneakers, and hurried over to the door.

"The word, Damon, the word." she said and disappeared out of the room, running.

Damon stood there confused for a moment, but then understood and nearly tripped over himself trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. He didn't bother changing right then, Bonnie was probably halfway out of the front door by now.

He grabbed a pair of his own jeans, leather jacket, keys and a t-shirt, before rushing out of the room himself and down the stairs. Several guests that were in the main room looked befuddled, a little startled. The front door was swung open, and he gave them a quick wave before heading out of it, it slammed behind him.

Bonnie was running barefoot to the Camaro by the time he got to the driveway. However, he whistled between his thumb and point finger to get her attention. When she turned around, he motioned her towards the garage.

Damon had a much better idea.

He pushed the button on the garage opener on his key chain.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked, her heart still beating faster, but she wasn't crying anymore. Knowing they were getting away from that party had already made her anxiety settle. Now she just wanted to get away as quick as possible.

After the garage was open, the light automatically turned on. Bonnie, and Stefan's cars were in the garage, but on the furthest side of the large lightly lit garage, was a motorcycle with a black cover over it.

Damon lead her over to it, and pulled the cover off.

"Holy shit." Bonnie whispered. The thing was massive, and beautiful. Shit, it was magnificent.

"Pride and joy, next to you, and the Camaro." he smirked.

He hadn't ridden it in months, he saved it for special occasions, and what was more special than ditching your own party?

Damon stepped over to a wooden box that was sitting on the work bench, and pulled out two helmets, handing one to Bonnie, and setting the other on the bike.

"You gotta let me get changed now." he chuckled, seeing that Bonnie was impatient as she put her helmet on.

He slipped out of his suit, pulling on his jeans, and t-shirt, kicking off his wingtips, and putting on a pair of work boots that were near the workbench as well. He tossed his suit and shoes into the open window of Bonnie's car, and put his helmet on.

"Here, put this on." he said, holding his leather jacket open, and she smiled a little, sliding her arms into the sleeves.

Damon stepped over, putting up the stand on the motorcycle and seated himself on it. The motorcycle came to life with a rumble as he started it, and placed his hands on the handlebars.

"You coming?" he teased, looking over at Bonnie, who smiled a little, her cheeks still stained from her tears and makeup.

Bonnie climbed up into the bike, wrapping her arms around him, she put her feet up on the passenger foot pegs.

Within a few seconds, they were driving out of the garage, and down the driveway. Damon made sure she was holding on tightly before he turned out onto the road. The motorcycle sped up along the road, Bonnie's hair that was out from the helmet blew back behind her.

As she rested her head against his back, Damon turned on the headlights, and sped up.

* * *

 _la mia_ _dolcezza -_ My sweetness

 _Ciao, bella -_ Hello, beautiful

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 **Please leave a review!**


	29. New Year, New Memories

_**A/N:** I apologize for the long wait, my laptop is broken so I had to write all of this on my phone. I hope you enjoy it!  
_

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 **This chapter contains explicit sexual content.**

 **Chapter 28** – New Year, New Memories  


Bonnie held tight to Damon on the back of his motorcycle. The wind whipped back her hair that was sticking out from the helmet on her head. He smiled, enjoying the feeling of the air, the smell of the surroundings, with her arms wrapped around him, clinging to him. Damon was glad they left the party, though he was not happy about the reasons behind it. It seemed as though whenever they were really happy, something came in and messed with them. It also seemed, the problem was always _people._

However, they both knew that it was impossible to keep other people from doing stupid shit, or appearing at the worst possible moments. The only thing they could do, was do what they needed to make it better for themselves. Some people might have seen what they were doing as running away, however, Bonnie and Damon saw it differently. They were simply removing themselves from the situation.

They sped down the road under the stars, and slight overcast for at least forty minutes before they finally stopped. Damon pulled into a small all night burger joint, with a flickering neon sign, and mostly teenagers with skate boards hanging around one side sitting in the grass, smoking, and shoveling food in their mouths.

"Ohh, fancy." Bonnie teased him as he helped her off the bike, and they both took their helmets off.

Damon made sure to park the bike in the lot far from the group of kids, and shoved his keys in his jeans pocket.

Bonnie looked fairly odd in her dress with her jeans, and she was struggling to move around very well I it.

"Do you take a particular liking to that dress?" Damon asked her, and she looked at him curiously, then down at the dress.

"No, not really, why?" she questioned him, looking back up with her emerald eyes.

He chuckled, giving her a devious look and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a pocket knife.

He stepped over to her, and pulled the dress closer to him, away from her body. Bonnie figured out what he was doing the second she saw the knife, but it didn't make her any less nervous. She knew he wouldn't hurt her though, not on purpose.

"Hold still baby." Damon told her, and he made a large cut in the fabric of the dress, and then closed the knife, putting it back into his jeans.

Grabbing the dress, he pulled hard with two hands, and ripped the dress in a vaguely clean line all the way around. He now held way more than half her dress in his hands, and Bonnie was wearing a makeshift crop top looking thing, that went down to half of her belly button. At least she had his jacket to keep her warm.

"Do you want to keep this?" Damon asked, holding the remaining dress fabric up. Bonnie shook her head and waved a hand at it, so he walked over to shove it into the trash bin several feet away.

"Alright," he started and swept her up off her feet, holding her bridal style, "lets get some food."

Bonnie laughed as he carried her into the small restaurant, using his shoulder to open the door. There weren't many people in the burger joint, just a few staff, and several other teenagers who looked rather smashed, and were half asleep in the booths with their food.

The two of them made their way to the counter, where he finally set her down on her feet. They ordered cheese burgers, fries, drinks, and mozzarella sticks. Damon carried her to a leather seated booth as they waited for their foot, and she wiggled in it sticking her tongue out at him. He smirked, and walked over to stand by the counter. A few moments later they had their food, and drinks, and were sitting side by side, rather than across from each other.

"Do you think-" Bonnie started but Damon cut her off by shoving a few fries in her mouth, and she looked at him surprised for a moment.

"If it's about you know who's you're not allowed to talk about it." he said playfully, and she chewed the food in her mouth, hitting him on the shoulder.

She swallowed the fries, and licked at her lips, "It's not about that!" she laughed, shaking her head at him.

Bonnie took a long drink from her soda, and brushed some strands of hair behind her ear before speaking, "I was going to ask; Do you think that we can start looking for houses soon?"

Damon blinked, remembering they had talked about wanting to get their own place, which would be a good idea, especially with all the craziness going on. Though, their entire marriage had been crazy since the day they said I do. At least having their own place meant not being constantly surrounded by the craziness.

"Of course. I have some business to get to the next few weeks, but I'm sure we can fit in some house shopping, take a look around." he told her, leaning over a little more to kiss her on the cheek.

She grinned at him, and leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued to eat their food. She was glad he was so supportive, but she knew a great deal of this was because of how much she supported him. They would be a lot worse off without each other. This had been proven more than once. It wasn't that they needed each other to live, but, life was just _better_ with each other.

"I just hope you can handle running the company." Bonnie mentioned after a moment before sucking at the ice in her drink with a draw because it was empty.

He nodded slowly, and thought for a second.

"Well, it will be more work. I have contracts to renegotiate, academies to check on, the whole balance of power has shifted to me, and I have to convince a lot of people that they're making a good choice keeping their agreements, assets, and contracts with us. That we're still good for grants, and funding, mergers." Damon explained, and she nodded, pursing her lips. She wished she understood more about business. She would help him as much as she could either way.

"I'm proud of you." Bonnie said with a smile and kissed him on the cheek, a really wet kiss that made a suction sound. Damon laughed a little, grinning at her.

He grabbed some fries and tossed them at her face. She gasped and grabbed some, throwing them at him. Before they knew it, they were tossing fries at each other aimlessly, then they decided to play around even more. Damon moved to the other side of the booth, and they started trying to toss fries into each others mouths. They gott told once to stop, but as soon as the staff looked away they were doing it again. Giggling, and trying to hide their laughing, pretending like they weren't doing anything. The huge mess of fries on the table and floor and seats gave them away however.

"We're going to have to ask you to leave, if you're not going to stop." one of the men at the cash register said.

Bonnie flushed a little, looking embarrassed. Damon however chuckled, and gave an apologetic look, raising a hand.

"I'll clean the fries up if you get me a broom." he offered.

"No, you should just leave." was the response to his offer, and then the man talking to them looked away.

Damon shook his head with a chuckle, and grabbed his and Bonnie's cups, refilling them with new ice and soda. He grabbed Bonnie's free hand after handing her, her cup, and walked with her slowly out of the restaurant and into the parking lot. Once they got to the bike, he put the cups into the metal cup holders on the inside part of the handle bars that he'd gotten custom made for it. The helmets were secured to the handle bars by a lock which he put the combination in for and then handed Bonnie a helmet.

"Where to know?" Bonnie questioned, curious of where he was going to take her now. She felt like they were on the run, without the actual danger of police, or being shot by the leader of a drug cartel...

Let's just say she watched a lot of movies...

He smiled at her, and lifted her slight body onto the bike like she was a doll, before getting on himself.

"You'll see." Damon told her, and she wrapped her arms around him, looking to the side were the teenagers still were, laughing, surrounded by a cloud of smoke.

Damon started the bike, and then revved it up, before they went speeding out of the lot, and down the road again. The clouds were building up more, but the moon and most of the stars were still visible without the heavy lights of the city. It was a beautiful night really, and some fireworks went off the sky every few moments, some were from residential parties, and others from larger estate parties. Bonnie was glad she was spending new years eve with the man she loved, even if it was an usual part to the evening to say the least.

The two of them drove down the road on Damon's motorcycle for a good twenty more minutes before he slowed down a bit, and pulled into a dark parking lot, only really lit by the moonlight, and the street lights across the way.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked, looked around, and she could see the shimmer of the water from the lake to the left of them.

"Shh, come on." Damon chuckled, and pulled her off the bike after taking his keys out, shoving them into his pocket. He took both their helmets off, securing them before grabbing their drinks, and coaxing Bonnie ahead of him.

Bonnie walked quickly looking around, tugging Damon's jacket tighter around herself.

"Are we even supposed to be here?" she questioned, looked side to side.

He started walking a little faster until they were at a jogging pace, Bonnie struggling to keep up with him.

"No." Damon told her, and she laughed, running after him as he sped up, and they wiggled hurried across the sandy part of the beach, sand flying up behind their feet as they ran.

Bonnie gasped, trying to catch her breath as they landed on their asses on the grass beside the picnic tables. Damon had managed not to spill the drinks everywhere when he sat down, but he breathing heavily too.

"If we get caught, I'm leaving you behind." Bonnie teased him, and he chuckled, waving a hand at her, and lying back in the grass.

Damon set the drinks in the grass away from them, and placed his hands behind his head. Bonnie followed suit lying down beside him, but she put her head on his shoulder. They both looked up at the sky, which was a little more cloudier than before, however, the stars and moon were still shining brightly through it all.

"I'll set my alarm for midnight, so we know exactly when it's New Years." he tells her looking down at her face, her brown skin glowing beautifully in the moonlight.

Bonnie smiled up at him, and watched as he grabbed his phone from his jeans pocket, and put his alarm on midnight. It was not that long until then, but, they both wanted to make sure they kissed exactly at midnight. Silly traditions weren't as silly as most people claimed, everyone fell into them at some point or another.

After several moments lying in the grass, Damon got up, her sliding off him. He stood up from the ground and started pulling his clothes off.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked, cocking a brow. However, he'd already stripped completely and was walking through the grass, and sand, and to the gently waving water.

"I'm taking a swim, care to join me, Mrs. Salvatore?" he teased her, turning backwards for a minute.

She laughed and watched him walk into the water, until he was at his lower waist in it. Bonnie stood from the ground, and pulled off Damon's leather jacket she was wearing. The air was chilly, but, it wasn't going to stop her. Though she knew the water was probably cold.

"Is it cold?" Bonnie called over, as Damon watched her clothing fall to the ground and she started over.

"God no, it's...super warm." Damon lied with a grin, his eyes tracing along her body, she knew he was lying, but she couldn't resist that smile of his.

Bonnie hurried into the water, and was instantly hit with the coolness of it. She squealed quietly, running quickly to him, pushing her face into his chest. The water that only went to his waist, went to her breasts. Damon wrapped his arms around her, feeling her chest pressed tightly against his as he held her. The water waves gently around them, the breeze bringing more goosebumps onto both of their skin.

"You're a liar!" she teased him, and he smirked, lifting her up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Damon walked further back into the water, until both of them were up to their necks, this meant if he let Bonnie go, she'd be under completely.

"Don't let me go." Bonnie giggled, and laid her head on his shoulder. He grinned and swayed her gently in the water. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, her green eyes shifting back and forth from his face, to look out further in the lake.

Damon tilted his head to the side for a moment, and then leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Then without warning, he kicked his legs out from underneath himself and sent them both under the water. Bonnie sucked in a quick breath before she was submerged. The water greeting them like a ice bath. After a few seconds, Damon pushed them both back up, their heads coming out of the water.

"You never said I couldn't let me go!" he smirked as he took a breath, and Bonnie who was also trying to catch her breath, hit him playfully in the shoulder.

The two of them swam around in the water together for a little while longer, until finally they heard Damon's phone beep several times from across the way. This meant it was midnight. Right on time, fireworks shot up in the sky from the city far off past the other side of the lake. Bonnie turned her head to look up at the fireworks for a moment. Damon unwrapped his arms that had been around her, and took her face into his hands.

Turning her face back to him, he smiled at her, and leaned in. Their lips touched, warm, and soft, wet against each others. The clouds were building more in the sky, and the water was getting colder, but they didn't care right then. They kissed slowly, their kiss growing deeper after a few moments. Damon pulled Bonnie closer to him, her arms wrapping around his neck. She slid her tongue along his bottom lip, and giggled softly when he nipped at it with his teeth. She could feel his hand slowly sliding down to the small of her back, his fingers drawing small circular patterns along her skin. Until his hand finally slid down, and he grabbed at her ass.

"The waters getting colder. Why don't we get out, hmm?" he questioned after breaking the kiss, and Bonnie kissed along the side of his face, before making a small sound in agreement.

Damon smirked, and placed his other hand on her ass as well, as he carried her out of the water. The breeze made them both even colder, but, they wouldn't be too cold for too long. This was certain.

They were both dripping slowly with water as Damon carried Bonnie across the sand, and to the grass where there things were. He laid her down on her back in the grass, and he saw the clouds moving in, knowing it was likely going to rain. So, as he moved to the ground as well, he decided to waste as little time as possible.

Bonnie though, was mildly surprised when suddenly her thighs were spread, and Damon's head was between them. He kissed along the flesh of her thighs, already feeling heat emanating from them, and he knew she was getting excited. He enjoyed knowing how he aroused her, and had some...plans, for really making her forget about the drama from earlier in the night. It was a new year, and he was going to make sure she started it with some substantial new memories.

His soft kisses quickly took a turn, as Damon bit at her inner thigh. He heard the soft sound from her parted lips as her head tilted back against the grass. Bonnie bit at her bottom lip, her thighs starting to move together on their own, and she felt Damon stop this. Pushing her thighs back apart, he licked along her thigh, and then bit her again, a little harder. Her hips jumped slightly, and he grinned against her skin.

Damon kissed until he got to the warm arousal between those thighs of hers, and he kissed along her clit just once, teasing her. Bonnie wiggled her toes slightly smiling. She felt his lips move to her other thigh, and his teeth bite her. This time he sucked some of her skin into his mouth, and then after a few moments let it go with a pop. Leaving a red mark on her skin, he licked at the mark for a moment before kissing back up her thigh.

It was no surprise that Damon was dominate, Bonnie loved it, even if she was sometimes dominate as well. Tonight however, she was more than content letting him _devour_ her, amongst other things. She loved his bites, and his hands that held her thighs apart. She was getting wetter by the second.

Damon finally bit one last time along her inner thigh, and his tongue met her clit more directly.  
He flicked his tongue along the sensitive nub several times, before he took it between his lips, and started to suckle at it. His hands pushed Bonnie's legs up onto his shoulders, and his hands moved to hold her hips down. Bonnie moaned, her lips twitching, and her hands reached down to tangle in Damon's hair.

"You like that?" he whispered, before continuing his action, licking, and sucking at her clit harder.  
Bonnie gasped, and her hips rocked against his face slowly.

"Y-Yes..." Bonnie moaned, her eyelids fluttering, alternating between looking at the sky, and closing.

Damon hummed for a second as he pushed down on her hips tighter, getting a little rougher.  
He pulled his lips from her clit, and then slid his hands underneath her ass to prop her up a little more.  
Bonnie exhaled, her hips twitching when she felt his tongue slip inside of her warm, wet pussy, and his fingers move to massage at her clit. His tongue started to lick along her walls, moving as deep inside of her as he could get it, as his thumb rubbed at her clit quickly. Bonnie's moans grew louder, and her hips started to rock harder against his movements.

He loved every sound she made, needless to say, he could feel his own arousal growing harder as he pleasured her. Bonnie's head was a little dizzy as she moaned, and her breath was heavy. She could feel herself near the edge, and as Damon put a little more pressure into his thumbs massaging of her clit, her hips jerked against him. He could taste the sweet juices that dripped from her as she orgasmed.

Damon however, did not give her much time to ride her orgasm out, at least not on his face.  
Bonnie hadn't even caught her breath yet, or even stopped rocking her hips when she felt him pull his hand and tongue away from her.

He slid between her legs, face to face with her, and his hard cock slipped inside of her. There was a wet sound as it spread her walls, and he bottomed out inside of her. Bonnie inhaled, her arms wrapped around his neck. Damon started to quickly thrust his hips, placing his hands and arms on the ground on either side of her head to support himself. He pounded inside of her, the wet smacking sound of their hips colliding was heard around them. Bonnie moaned, her lashes fluttering at the sudden feeling of his length massaging along her walls over and over.

"Ohhh, shit…" Bonnie moaned, and he picked up his pace even further. At this point he was ravaging her. Damon was panting, deep moans coming from him as well as his head rested beside hers, his head leaning down, forehead against the grass.

He continued to pound his cock into her, making her breasts bounce, and the flesh of her thighs shake with each thrust. Damon felt it start to drizzle, so he knew he needed to get this going even harder, so they could both finish. This wouldn't be too hard, the intensity of his thrusting, was already driving him to a point where he was hanging onto that thin ledge.

Bonnie moaned even louder as she orgasmed again, her hips twitching, and her breath nearly impossible to catch up too. Damon somehow managed to thrust into her even harder, and faster, fucking her into another orgasm before she could even blink. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and they were both panting, moaning, their sounds blending in with each others.

Just as it started to rain a little harder, Damon grunted, and pulled out of her quickly. A heavy spray of his seed shot out onto her stomach, followed by another, as his erection twitched, and he moaned.  
Bonnie looked at him for a second, and they both smiled at each other before she closed her eyes trying to catch her breath.

Damon found a napkin in his jacket pocket and used it to wipe her stomach off, before he picked her up off the ground and carried her quickly over to the covered picnic tables. He grabbed both of their clothing, and things off the ground before they could get too wet, and hurried back over. Bonnie was sitting at a table, panting, and running her fingers through her hair.

"Holy, shit, baby." Bonnie exhaled, looking over at him as he pulled his clothing on, he was button his jeans now.

He smirked crookedly at her, and stepped over after he pulled on his shirt.

"I'd have liked it to last longer." Damon admitted as he stood her up by pulling gently on her arm, and slid her shirt over her head for her.

Bonnie licked at her lips, and looked over at his phone, the screen was lit up. It said 12:23am.

"What are you talking about, my knees are weak from you." she chuckled, and once her panties and her pants were on, she wrapped her arms around her neck, and stood on her toes to kiss his lips.

"Mmm." he hummed softly against her lips, "You're certainly naughty. I should've given you a spanking." Damon teased her, but slid his hand down to smack her ass once. Bonnie jumped a little, giggling, her ass tingling a bit.

"I think you're the naughty one." she smiled at him, and bit at his bottom lip gently as the rain poured down outside of the picnic area.

After about ten minutes, the rain stopped, hopefully long enough for them to get on the road. Damon tossed their drinks, and the napkin into a nearby garbage, before leading Bonnie back to the parking lot, and onto the bike. They were lucky no one had caught them, especially during their more… intense activities.

"Where do you want to go?" Damon asked Bonnie as they had their helmets on, and were pulling out of the lot.

"Surprise me." Bonnie replied, and Damon smiled to himself before speeding off down the road.

The sky stayed cloudy, but clear of rain as they road. The ride wasn't too long, only lasting maybe fifteen minutes, before they were pulling into the parking lot of a hotel. After parking and taking their helmets off, Damon picked Bonnie up off the bike, and carried her bridal style into the hotel.  
He paid for a room, and Bonnie held the key to the room as they went up the elevator to the 11th floor of the hotel. They could still hear firework outside from celebrations.

"Here you are, my love." Damon chuckled once they got into the room, and he set her down on her feet. He flipped the light switch on, and they both looked at the good sized room. There was a king sized bed, a television, minibar, which they didn't get the key for, for obvious reasons - the door to the bathroom, and a sliding glass door that lead to the patio.

"I'm going to call room service, and order us some dessert." Bonnie told him as she slid off her shoes.

Damon gave her a sly smile, and didn't even say anything but she already knew what flirty comment he was thinking about, and she shook her head and pushed him gently on the shoulder. He winked at her, and turned around, walking out onto the patio after taking his shoes off as well.

She watched him for a moment, before going over to the side of the bed where there was a landline sitting on the night stand along with a room service menu. They were lucky that the hotel had a night kitchen staff. Probably why the room cost $250 for one night.

Bonnie ordered a some brownies up to the room, and then hung up the phone, before heading out onto the patio where Damon was. He was sitting in a chair looking out past the patio. She smiled, and moved over, sitting forward facing on his lap, and wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I ordered some sweet stuff." she told him, and he grinned back at her.

"You're my sweet stuff." Damon whispered, and leaned in, kissing her on the lips softly, before turning his head and biting playfully along her neck, nuzzling as well.

She giggled, squirming in his lap because it tickled, and then leaned down to lay her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. They're both quiet for several moments, Damon's hands running up and down her back slowly as they listened to the breeze ruffle the tree tops, and some more fireworks go off in the distance.

"You know… I'm happy, that I'm married to you." Bonnie told Damon quietly, and he smiled, his eyes flickering down to her.

"But, I do wish I got to plan my wedding, and go through the whole process of being a bride." she continued, and opened her eyes looking up at him.

Damon nodded slowly, and gave her a light squeeze, "Well. There's plenty of other things, that we'll get to do, plan." he smiled at her, which made her smile as well, and she lifted her head a bit to kiss his jawline softly.

"I love you." Bonnie told him, turning her head to nuzzle along his shoulder.

"I love you too." he replied, kissing her hair, and sliding his hand down to give her a loving tap on her ass. To which she chuckled a little, and kissed his shoulder.

There was a knock at the door, forcing Bonnie to reluctantly get off Damon's lap, and walk back into the room. As she opened the door, she saw it was someone delivering their dessert and she thanked them. Damon walked back into the room, closing the patio door, and pulling the curtains in front of it as well.

Bonnie's phone rang as she carried the fancy looking square bowl that had some brownies in it over to Damon. When she walked over to look at her phone, it appeared Caroline had already called her a few times, they must've not heard it.

"Hello?" she said as she answered her phone, holding it to her ear, as Damon set the bowl down on the bed, and started to pull his clothing off. Bonnie's eyes trailed along his body, and he grinned at her.

"Hey! Happy New Year!" Caroline said loudly, sounding fairly tipsy, and there was music and chatter in the background.

"Happy New Year, Caroline." Bonnie chuckled, and looked over at Damon who had been able to hear Caroline from his few feet away.

The was ruffling on the other end of the phone before her best friend spoke again, "Where are you guys? You totally d-disappeared!"

"We stuck off, we're at a hotel." she explained.

"Ohh, you two kiddos have fun!" Caroline laughed, there was more shuffling sounds before the phone hung up.

Bonnie chuckled, and shook her head, tossing her phone down on the bed. Damon had changed into a pair of new hotel pajamas that had been sitting on the bed. Bonnie happily followed him, and changed into the other pair as well, though they were a little too long for her, but this wasn't a surprise. Then, they sat together on the bed, eating some of their brownies. They were admittedly, both a little tired. Bonnie was already starting to fall asleep while she was eating, and Damon chuckled, pulling the bowl away from both of them, and setting the remaining brownies on the night table, flipping the lights off.

"Alright, sleepyhead, let's get you tucked in." Damon said, sliding Bonnie back further on the bed, and pulled the comforter over both of them. She smiled and laid her head back against the pillow, and when he laid down as well, she cuddled up against him.

He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close, kissing her on the side of the face. It didn't take very long for both of them to fall asleep. Breathing slow, held close to one another. They slept soundly, with full stomachs, and satisfied desires, happy to be lying together. The drama back at the estate didn't even seem to matter - not as they slept.

However, around 11am, when they were both still deep asleep, having slept almost through check out time, Bonnie's phone rang, loudly, waking them both up. Bonnie sat up slowly, groggy, and brushing her hair out of her face as she slipped out of Damon's embrace to grab her phone.

"Mmh, hello?" Bonnie answered, eyes still closed, and she hadn't even looked at the caller ID. Damon made a small groaning sleepy noise from his place on the bed, tossing a pillow over his face.

"Bonnie, it's Caroline." her best friend said from the other end, sounding tired, and rough.

Bonnie licked at her lips, raking her fingers through her tangled in her hair, "What's up care?"

"Uh… Stefan, and I, we.. Well.. it's a funny story...Okay.. so, maybe it's not that funny." Caroline babbled, and Bonnie opened her eyes glaring across the room for a moment.

"Caroline, what's going on?" she questioned, as Damon sat up in bed.

"Well...We're in jail.." 

* * *

**Please leave a review!**


	30. Plan of Togetherness

**Chapter 29 -** Plan of Togetherness

 ** _Friday, Jan 1st 2016_**

"How - why the hell are you guys in jail?" Bonnie asked, her head running through some of the worst possible reasons that her best friend, and her brother-in-law were in jail. The last time she had spoken to Caroline they were at the New Years party.

"Uhh, well..." Caroline started, sounding like she had one hell of a hangover, "...I don't think the story, really matters, but, I do know that we were arrested for...like, being way too drunk."

Bonnie blinked, standing up from the bed, she turned so she was looking at Damon while she switched the phone to her other ear. "You got arrested for public intoxication? I thought you guys were at the estate?" She could hear Caroline sighing on the other end of the phone.

"We were, but, then we left... Can you please come pick us up?" she asked, and Damon was getting out of bed, figuring they would need to leave soon. Though he didn't know all the story. He raked his fingers through his hair, and stepped over to Bonnie, giving her a kiss on the side of the head.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Are you in the mystic falls jail, or..." she asked, moving to get undressed from the pajamas, and put her jeans, and makeshift shirt on while Damon got dressed as well.

After Caroline explained that they were in Annandale, Bonnie told her they would be there as soon as possible, and hung up the phone. Damon was already dressed but Bonnie hadn't gotten her pants on quite yet. Damon was looking at her curiously for more of an explanation, and she chuckled weakly.

"Caroline and Stefan got arrested for public intoxication as you heard, they're in Annandale." Bonnie told him, tossing her phone onto the bed, and grabbing her jeans to pull them on. Damon shook his head, looking fairly annoyed.

It was no surprise that he was annoyed. He was a recovering alcoholic after all, and his brother, one of the people who had pushed him to get help, was now in jail for drinking irresponsibly. Ironic, and frustrating nonetheless.

Once Bonnie got her clothes and shoes on, he walked over to her, and helped her get his jacket on, and handed her one of the helmets for the bike. "No comment." Damon told her when she looked at him curiously now, and she understood. There was really nothing left to say on the manner until they got there. Then? Well there would probably be a few things both of them had to say to Stefan and Caroline.

"At least Annandale has a good Dennys." Bonnie commented, and Damon chuckled as he grabbed his helmet and the room key.

"Yeah, we can stop for bunch after we pick them up... We have to swing by the house, get my car, and then head there. So, they'll have a good hour or so to sit and think about their misdoings." he said half jokingly, and led Bonnie out of the hotel room.

Bonnie and Damon headed out of the hotel after checking out at the front desk. It had gotten much colder overnight, and clouds filled the sky. It looked as though it was going to rain again, which wouldn't be a surprise. But, in any case, they didn't want to still be on the bike when it started... So, as before, Damon got on, and Bonnie got onto the bike behind him, holding onto him tightly, each of them with their helmets on. They pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the road. The wind pretty damn cold as is blew against and past them.

By the time they got back to Mystic Falls, they were both shivering, and covered in goosebumps.

"Okay, come on, come, let's get in the car." Damon chuckled as they were in the garage. Before Bonnie could get off the bike, he picked her up and hurried over to the camaro with her.

Bonnie squealed as she was tossed into the front seat after he got the door opened, and pulled off her helmet she hadn't gotten off yet. Damon pulled his off as well right before he got into the drivers seat. The second the doors closed, the car was started, and the heat turned on. Damon rubbed his hands together, and looked at the clock on the dash.

"Alright, we should be able to get there in twenty minutes if traffic is good." he told his wife as he looked over at her.

"All I care about right now is this heat." Bonnie sighed heavily, putting her hands up to the vents. Damon chuckled, and then put the car in gear and they headed out of the driveway and back down the road to Annandale.

The drive was pretty quiet, but neither of them minded. They were still a little tired from their night out, and their unexpected wake up call. It was nice though; that they didn't need to be talking constantly to be comfortable around each other. Some people might have thought of it as boring, or the passion having burnt out – but, considering their sex last night... The passion? Hot as ever.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't be so hard on Stefan and Caroline." Bonnie mused, breaking the silence. They were about five minutes from the jail.

Damon looked over at her curiously, raising a brow. "Well, we did...have sex at a beach we weren't supposed to be at. We could've gotten arrested too." she mentioned, and he nodded.

"Though, we weren't drunk either. I think, having sex outside, isn't really on the same level as being so drunk that you get arrested." Damon chuckled lightly.

"Hmm, yeah. I'm not that surprised about Caroline, but, Stefan doesn't peg me as the drinker." Bonnie commented, and he looked over at her again after they stopped at a red light.

"Stefan is...easily influenced by his bedmates." Damon told her, pursing his lips, and she shook her head with a smile.

The Salvatore's honestly seemed to have that in common. Bonnie was certain she could get Damon to do almost anything if she dressed in lacy lingerie, or one of his shirts. However, she'd never abuse this power... Though, it wasn't like Damon didn't have a similar effect on her...

A few moments later, the two of them were walking into the jail to get Stefan and Caroline out of there...  
When Stefan and Caroline came walking slowly, and tiredly into the main area to see their friends, they looked very hung over, and disheveled.

Stefan's white dress shirt was half unbuttoned, tie missing, and his jacket in his left hand dragging on the floor. Caroline's strapless blue dress was hiked up nearly to the top of her thighs, and was slightly askew along the bust, her hair a mess on her head, makeup smudged. To top it off, Stefan was wearing a good amount of her lipstick on the right side of his face, and Caroline had his tie, tied around her left thigh.

"So, tell me again why you didn't call your mother?" Bonnie asked as they made their way to the camaro, and opened the passenger side door.

Caroline sighed, "Mostly because I didn't want to get a lecture." the blonde said as she got into the backseat, Stefan following behind her, trying to ignore the look his brother was giving him.

Bonnie laughed as she put on her seat belt, "And, you think you're not going to get a lecture from me?" her friend groaned from the backseat as Damon got into the drivers side, and started the car up.

"How the hell did you even get here?" she asked, turned in her seat to look at either of the pair.

"I hardly remember..." Caroline said honestly, rubbing at her messy face.

Stefan sighed and sat up a little straighter, getting his seat belt on. "I'm pretty sure, we...just left the mansion since we were bored, and headed to, the bar down town." he mumbled.

"Ohh, right... Then we met...these people, and they invited us to a house party, but..." the blonde stopped unable to remember much afterwards. It was noticeable now that they were both covered in a thin layer of glitter, and smelled like as much alcohol as they had drank.

"I hope neither of you drove." Damon said, as he started pulling out of the lot, looking in the rear view mirror, have giving them a disapproving look, and half watching out behind the car.

Caroline shook her head before speaking, "No, we called for a car... But.. I honestly don't remember how we got here."

Both Stefan and Caroline looked embarrassed, though mostly exhausted... Bonnie shook her head and looked at Damon who wasn't even sure what to say at this point, but Bonnie seemed to have enough words for both of them...

"Alright, I understand you were having fun, it's new years, but, you cannot be that reckless. You could have gotten hurt, someone else could have gotten hurt..." Bonnie told them as she turned around in her seat to face the front window.

"You're also lucky that you two only got fines." she sighed, and Damon had already pulled out onto the road, and was headed for Denny's so they could eat breakfast.

Caroline and Stefan stayed pretty quiet on the drive to the restaurant, and had fallen half asleep by the time they got there. When they got there, Damon and Bonnie both got out of the car.

"Come on you two." Damon said as he closed his door. The two in the back didn't move. He opened the door of the side Stefan was on, and clapped his hands loudly about five times.

Stefan and Caroline groaned and opened their eyes, groaning even morning at the sunlight that had gotten a little brighter. It hadn't rained after all. At least not in Annandale.

Once the hungover duo got out of the car, and Caroline had fixed her dress more appropriately, they all headed into the restaurant. They got some weird looks due to Stefan and Caroline's messy faces, and such, but they ignored it.  
Once they were seated, Damon sat on one side of the booth with his brother, and Bonnie on the other with Caroline.

"My head feels like it's going to explode." Caroline mumbled as she rested her face in her hands, and Stefan was leaning against the wall and window beside him.

Damon rolled his eyes, he couldn't help it. As much as he wanted to be sympathetic, he just wasn't feeling like it at that moment. Though, it might have just been that he hadn't had any coffee yet. Bonnie was feeling overly annoyed as well, even if she knew she had to get over it. Stefan and Caroline could have to live with their actions, and hopefully never repeat them; but, she couldn't be mad at her best friend forever.

When the waitress came over, they all ordered coffee, and looked at their menu's. Damon and Bonnie decided on pancakes, while Stefan and Caroline got bacon, eggs, potatoes, other greasy foods.

"Alright..." Bonnie said, standing up from the booth, and motioning Damon to stand up as well since he was on the outside of the booth. "You two, get up."

Stefan and Caroline both got up, looking a little confused. Bonnie grabbed both of their hands, and walked with them to the hallway where the restrooms were. The little walk followed by mumbled confusion, and questions as to what she was doing.

"Oh, just come on." she told them as she pulled both of them into the women's restroom, Stefan blinked, looking mildly embarrassed just being in there.

"Umm... What are we doing?" Stefan asked, but Bonnie just let go of their hands, grabbed some paper towels and dampened them in the sink.

She stepped over to Caroline first. "You two look like you made out with a couple of clowns." she commented as she started to clean the blondes face.

As she cleaned Caroline's face she whined, a little, and there was a similar pained grumbling from Stefan as well. It only made her chuckle, and shake her head as she wiped their faces clean of Caroline's makeup, and whatever sweat and germs they might have gotten on them as well.

"You two are babies." Bonnie told them, and once she was finished she gave them paper towels to dry their faces. She might have been annoyed with them, but she still cared about them... Even if her and Stefan weren't all that close. He was her brother-in-law. Nothing would change that.

* * *

A hot breakfast, and several Tylenol later, Damon dropped Bonnie and Caroline off at Care's apartment. At this point in Mystic Falls, it was drizzling lightly.

"I'll drop Stefan off, and then come to get you when you're ready." Damon told Bonnie. She smiled softly and leaned over to him after she took her belt off. After giving him a quick kiss on the lips, she got out of the car.

Caroline was already halfway to the front door of her building, and Bonnie jogged quickly to catch up with her and to keep from getting wet. She was still wearing Damon's jacket, but, it was fairly chilly outside, even colder than earlier.

"Shit, it's cold." Care huffed as they got inside, listening to the sound of Damon pulling the camaro away, and Caroline's keys jingling in her hand. It was a miracle she hadn't lost them in the process of the night before.

"I think it's supposed to snow." Bonnie commented, shivering as well as they headed up the stairs.

Caroline wobbled in her tall black heels, and eventually took them off before going up another round of stairs.

Bonnie walked behind her in case she fell, since she seemed a little off balance still. "You know, I'm not happy about you getting so out of hand...but, I mean, it is nice that you had fun with Stefan. I only wish it wasn't the getting arrested kind of fun." she told Caroline as they got to her door.

"I know..." Caroline sighed, unlocking her front door, and walking into her warm apartment. Making a slight sound of pleasure she dropped her heals on the ground, and her dress hit the floor not long after. She still had Stefan's tie around her thigh.

"Are you serious about Stefan?" Bonnie asked with a chuckle, closing the door behind her. She stepped over, and casually took Stefan's tie off her best friends leg, and shoved it into Damon's jacket pocket.

Caroline ran her fingers through her gnarled hair, and turned around to face her. "I really like him; but, I don't want anything serious. You know? I just got out of the longest, most serious relationship of my life." she said.

"I get it." Bonnie told her, "You need to be careful though, and make sure Stefan isn't just holding out. Hoping that you'll eventually want to be serious."

"What if I do want to be serious with him eventually?" the blonde questioned, and she chuckled lightly shaking her head.

"That's later. Right now, you don't. Make sure Stefan is truly alright with it. What if's, lead to regrets." she explained, and watched as Caroline turned around to head to her room.

"I am being careful. If I think it's going in the wrong direction, I'll end it." Caroline started, "I'm gonna go to bed."

Bonnie sighed, "Alright. Call me later."

She moved to sit down on the couch, and texted Damon that he could come and pick her up when he dropped Stefan off. She figured she might be there longer, or else she would've told him to just stay at the front. After a moment, her phone vibrated.

 _ **Damon:**_ _I can just turn back around. Be there in a minute._

Starting to put her phone back in one of the jacket pockets, Bonnie hesitated, and moved it back to look at it again. Biting at her lip, she scrolled through her text messages.

 **Abby:** _Hope everything is okay, couldn't find you before leaving the party_.

After taking a slow breath, Bonnie typed back.

 **Bonnie:** _Damon and I left. It was good to see you._

She then shoved her phone into a pocket, remaining seated on the couch, looking across the room absently at the door. There a slight hint of sadness in her eyes, and the way she breathed. The night before had been so great – but she was starting to remember the entire reason they had left... Kai, Enzo, Abby, and Mikael, and everything had just been too much. Bonnie knew she would need to face it eventually.

When her phone vibrated the next time, it was Damon to tell her he was downstairs. She headed out of Caroline's apartment, locking and closing the door behind her before heading down the stairs. When Bonnie got into the passenger seat, Stefan was still in the back half asleep, covering his face with his suit jacket.

"How's sleepy back there?" Bonnie asked Damon who chuckled and shook his head.

"He's going to stay **awake**!" Damon said loudly, and reached behind to pull Stefan's jacket off his face.

Stefan grumbled, and sat up more, glaring at his brother. "Dick."

"Hey... I came to pick you up." he told him, "You better get whatever wild streak your on settled... Have you even done any of your school work lately?"

"Well, no. I planned on this week." Stefan replied with a sigh.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Whatever, get on it."

"Why do you care all the sudden?" he questioned, and Damon looked over at Bonnie who chuckled, and gave him a knowing smile.

"He's looking out for you, is all." Bonnie told her brother-in-law, who waved a hand at her, and leaned against the window.

It was kind of hilarious. Taking care of Stefan and Caroline was like having two children. At least, in these recent moments. Honestly, both of them would rather run away to France than get used to picking up the cranky duo from jail...

When Bonnie walked into the front door, Wayne came up to her first thing. "I got the gentleman's number for you, as you asked." he told her, and handed her a small post it note.

 **Malachai Parker**  
 **(###)(###-####)**

"Oh, thank you, Wayne." she told him, and not a second later, he was taking Damon's coat from her after she got the things out of the pockets. She had to admit, it was nice having Wayne around. She would definitely miss him when her and Damon left. Even if he was paid to do all the things he did. He was a nice addiction around the house.

"My pleasure, Mrs. Bonnie." he said before disappearing.

Stefan was halfway up the stairs by the time Damon got over to Bonnie.  
"Oh, Stefan, I got this from Caroline." Bonnie said, and tossed his tie at him, it landed on the banister, and he just stared at it for a moment before taking several steps down to grab it.

"No sleeping mister!" Damon said with mock authority, and Stefan mumbled something back in return before he disappeared onto the second floor.

Damon took his shoes off, Bonnie doing the same after a second, and they headed into the living room both sighing heavily as they plopped onto the couch. Honestly, for a brief second, they both thought about how, if Alice were there, she would have already popped into the room and asked them if they wanted tea by now.

The new maid, wouldn't be there until the next day. Both of them doubted it would be the same... Alice was such a huge part of their little world, just like Wayne. Despite what she had done, they couldn't help miss her.

"Last night was great, by the way." Bonnie smiled, turning sideways, and tilting her head a little to the right as she looked at Damon.

He smirked a bit, "It was." he leaned over, kissing her on her lips softly.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Bonnie pulled closer to the dark haired man, kissing him back lovingly. His hands moved to her hips, and he smiled into the kiss. Despite their complicated morning, it was impossible to be anything but happy with each others company.

"We should do it again." Damon told her, giving her another quick peck on her lips before pulling her to sit in his lap, and Bonnie nuzzled the side of his face affectionately.

"Oh, I have to go to Richmond, tomorrow. Claim the company solely, since I know already that Stefan doesn't want to be part of it..." he told Bonnie after a second, and she looked at him with curious eyes, "I may need to reestablish agreements. I know I already lost a few because of Giuseppe. I need to give a speech, it's honestly not my strong suit."

Bonnie slowly, understanding. He wished Damon wasn't under all the stress he was. Now having to carry a business on his shoulders entirely. Though, she knew if he wanted too, he could sell out, and no longer be part of it. He could probably even find another family member, his uncle, someone, and ask them to help. Hell, even she could. After all, she was supposed to be half owner according to the contract her mother had made with Giuseppe.

That wasn't what she wanted however. Not right then. As much as she cared about Damon; she wasn't willing to take on a billion dollar business. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to do with her own life in regards to ballet yet.

"If I can help, let me know." Bonnie said, even despite this. She might not have wanted to own the business, but she wanted to be there for him. Even if she was just helping him figure out his speech.

"I will." Damon smiled softly at his wife, "Now...tell me whatever is on your mind. I can see you're a little worried."  
He ran his thumb along her cheek slowly, looking into her deep green eyes.

She chuckled slightly, relaxed more in his lap. "Well... I plan on calling Kai. I would really like to invite him over for dinner, tomorrow, to talk to him. Do you think your meeting will be done by dinner?" she questioned.

"I think so. We could make it a dinner party. Caroline can come – I want to invite Lexi, so you can finally meet her." Damon suggested, and she raised her brow.

"The woman from med school, and the clinic?" Bonnie asked, vaguely remembering, and Damon nodded.

"You can even invite Abby and Mikael if you want." he told her, and she bit at her lip slightly. It was a lot of people all at one dinner party, but, it wasn't a bad idea. It was planned, she knew who was coming, and could prepare herself. Plus, not much drama could go on, if everyone was invited, rather than showing up unexpectedly, right?

For a brief moment, Bonnie thought about bringing up Enzo, but decided it wasn't a good time. Damon would mention him when he was ready, and if he didn't, then maybe it was for the best for him.

"It's a plan then, dinner party tomorrow. Hopefully, everyone can show up, it is a little late notice." she chuckled, and he nodded, chuckling with her.

Lily stepped into the living room a moment later, dressed about as casually as the woman could get, in jeans, and fitted sweater, her hair perfectly straightened, and beige heels on her feet.

"What do you two have going on?" she asked them, and sat down in a chair near them.

"Uhh, well, I was just going to suggest we watch a movie. Do you want to join?" Bonnie asked, smiling softly at the woman. It was nice, getting along with her mother-in-law. She hoped it would last.

Lily nodded a little, and crossed her legs, "Oh, sure."

"Also..." Damon started slowly, "We have decided to have a dinner party tomorrow evening, with, us, Stefan, Caroline, Abby – Bonnie's mother, her fiance Mikael...a few others. As well as you if you want to join?"

"Of course, I would love to meet your mother, Bonnie." she said, looking at the woman with a small smile.

With their plans set in motion, the TV was turned on, and they happily picked out a movie to watch together.

* * *

 **Saturday January 2** **nd**

The kitchen of the Salvatore mansion was bustling; well, bustling as much as it could with Bonnie at the cooking reigns. Thankfully, as she was struggling to get everything done, Lily had jumped in to help her. The short, brown skinned ballerina was good at many things – cooking was not one of them. She could cook the basics, but, she lacked confidence in anything fancy.

"There's nothing fancy about it." Lily chuckled lightly, "You just have to follow the steps, and don't stress."

Bonnie smiled softly back at her mother-in-law, slightly embarrassed... She had been preparing all day for the dinner party, so she wasn't as nervous as she could be. She was mostly worried she would mess up the food somehow. That was the glue holding it together, right? With good food, at least if disagreements occurred, people could stuff their face...

"Alright... Chicken is almost done, potato's are done, mac and cheese is done..." Bonnie said quietly to herself but loud enough for Lily who was stirring green beans with one hand, and arranging cookies on a plate with the other, to hear.

"I called everyone...they all said they were coming..." she continued, getting a bit more nervous now.

Lily laughed softly, not to make fun of her, and her eyes showed when she looked back over at her, that she was laughing because she could understand how the young woman was feeling.

"You know, the Salvatore's didn't like me when they met me. Honestly, most of the ones alive, still don't." she told her turning to face her a bit more, "I tried constantly for the first few years of marriage to Giusepp to get them to like me; eventually, I realized...you can't force anything. I was very unhappy in my marriage, for a long time. I might have loved him but I was never as I wanted to be. A big part of it was...well, you know why; but, the other part was that I tried too hard to impress people who should have cared about me regardless."

Bonnie nodded slowly, understanding. She was more worried than she needed to be. Even if things didn't go well, someone didn't like her, or the dinner party, it wasn't the end of the world. At least she tried, and was succeeding to throw a dinner party.

It was silent for a few moments before Bonnie spoke again; "How did you...survive, being married to Giuseppe." she asked carefully, her eyes flickering back to the stove.

"Damon and Stefan..." Lily replied slowly, "When they were born, I didn't feel so alone. I might not have been a good mother as they got older, but, they've always been my light... I may have lost sight of it, but, they were always there."

"I understand that..." Bonnie started, leaning against the counter, "I really want to forgive my mother. She used to be my light, I guess I used to be hers..."

Lily stepped a bit closer to Bonnie, and put her hand on the side of her arm. Before she could say anything, Stefan walked casually into the kitchen. He wasn't yet dressed in his clothes for the dinner party yet, but, no one was. Damon wasn't back yet from his meeting, hopefully he would get back soon.

"Need any help?" Stefan questioned with a small smile. He was doing much better than the day before.

Bonnie smiled back at him a little, "Yeah, sure."

* * *

Damon had spent most of the day signing papers, and planning meetings- international, and national to renew contracts. His speech hadn't gone too bad, it was short, to the point, and he didn't bother putting in any dramatic propaganda. He wanted people to stick with the company because they wanted to; not because they were manipulated into it. Perhaps that wasn't the "business way" or his fathers way, but, it was his way. Damon would run the company with loyalty, and honesty. No back handed deals, and threats like Giuseppe.

After a mildly frustrating day, Damon was headed home after texting Bonnie that he would be there. He pulled into the driveway, none of the other guests were there yet from what it seemed. When he walked into the front door, he could automatically smell the food. Now, he knew Bonnie wasn't a fantastic cook, so it wasn't a surprise when he saw Lily and Stefan in the kitchen with his wife.

Stefan and Lily were starting to take the food into the dining room, having already put the plates and such out. Bonnie had wanted to do everything herself, or..well, with family. All the staff was gone. Even Wayne, who was taking the night out to visit some friends apparently.

"Damon." Bonnie said with a smile as Lily and Stefan disappeared from the kitchen.

She walked out into the foyer where he was, looking at him in his suit, his tie crooked on his neck, and his hair messy, eyes a little tired. He certainly looked a bit stressed.

"Hello, sweetheart." Damon said with a light chuckle, and Bonnie wasted no time wrapping her arms around his neck, standing up on her toes, and giving him a loving kiss on the lips.

"You look stressed. Go take a shower, get something casually formal on, and don't worry about helping with this." Bonnie told him, and he smiled at her.

He leaned in, giving her a soft kiss, and placing his hands along her hips, letting the kiss linger for a little. "Your sweet lips. They make everything better." Damon told her softly, and she grinned, flushing lightly.

Bonnie let go of him, and then patted him on the butt, sending him up the stairs. She herself had changed into black leggings, and a red silky thigh-length long sleeve shirt with a tied v neckline, with red flats as well. Her curly hair was pinned at one side. Such as everyone else was dressed in a more formal casual as well.

"Are you sure it's alright that we have wine?" Stefan asked as he was carrying two bottles, walking over to Bonnie.

"Uhh, I talked to Damon about it, he said that he'll be fine, just have the sparking cider there too. However, I will ask him again to make sure when he gets back down there." she told him, and he nodded disappearing into the kitchen again.

There was a knock at the door, and then the door opened; so, Bonnie knew it had to be Caroline... The blonde walked into the foyer with a smile, also looking much better than the night before. She was dressed a bit more formal than everyone else. In a knee length red dress, tall black heels, and her hair straightened.

"I baked a pie!" The blonde announced, walking over to Bonnie after closing the door with her foot. She was carrying the lattice crusted apple pie in her hands.

"You didn't have too, but thank you, Caroline." Bonnie chuckled, and took the pie from her. She was greeted with a kiss on her cheek from Care, who seemed fairly happy to be there.

"Oh, it's nothing... Do you need help with anything? Did you put candles on the dining room table, that would look, amazing...you could even do with just one or two you k-" Caroline started going on, but Bonnie stopped her as quickly as she could.

She chuckled and took a breath, "You can cut the pie into slices, and go put it on the dining room table." Bonnie told her, and Caroline nodded with a confidence after taking the pie back, and turned to walk into the kitchen with the pie.

There was another knock on the door a few seconds later, and Bonnie took a breath. It seemed they were making good time, though Damon had gotten home a bit late... She walked over to the door, and opened it to see Abby and Mikael standing there, but Maddox didn't seem to be in sight.

"Abby...Mikael, I'm glad you're here, come in." she said, and tried to ignore the slight look of pain in her mothers eyes when she didn't called her mom.

The two of them stepped in, and Bonnie closed the door behind them. "Thank you for inviting us. It was last minute, but, we are glad to be here." Abby said with a smile, and Mikael nodded, giving Bonnie a gentle smile as well, reaching a hand out to shake hers.

"Yes, we are very glad." Mikael said, his accent thick, and Bonnie shook his hand for a moment before he spoke again, "We didn't bring Maddox, we figured that would be the best."

Bonnie nodded slowly, "You hired a babysitter?" she asked curiously, and Abby shook her head.

"No, actually, one of Mikael's daughters is in town, so she's watching him." she explained, and Bonnie had to run through the thought that she could have a step-sister one day.

Once her mother, and soon to be step-fathers coats were off and hung up, Bonnie led them into the living room where Stefan and Lily were residing. They were sitting on the couch casually, waiting for all the guests to show up. Caroline was still in the kitchen, taking an odd amount of time to cut a pie.

"Uhh.." Bonnie started and cleared her throat, "Abby, you already know Stefan... Mikael this is, Stefan, Damon's brother, and both of you, this is Lily, their mother."

"It's lovely to meet you, Lily, and nice to see you again, Stefan." Abby said with a smile, standing with her hands in front of her body.

Mikael introduced himself as well, and it was mildly awkward as they all stood there, but thankfully, there was another knock at the door. Unfortunately, Damon had just come down the stairs from his shower, and called that he would answer it.

As he walked over to the door, his hair was still a little damp, but combed neatly, and he looked more relaxed than before. As he opened the door, he saw a fimilar blonde haired woman, and he smiled.

"Lexi! I'm so glad you could come." Damon told her, and motioned her inside. She was taller than Bonnie not in heels, but in the four inch heels she was wearing, she was six feet tall.

"I wouldn't miss it. I'm glad you invited me. I almost thought I was never going to hear from you again." Lexi joked, and put a hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture.

Damon chuckled back at her, and motioned her into the living room so he could introduce her to everyone.  
Everyone's eyes shifted over to the tall blond, her hair straight past her waist as she walked in beside him.

"Lexi this is, Bonnie my wife, my mother Lily, my brother Stefan, our friend Caroline, Bonnie's mother Abby, and Abby's fiance Mikael." he said, trying to get it all out in the open, with one wave of a motion, feeling a little nervous, and his next statement would serve to show why.

"Everyone, this is Lexi... We...went to school together. Med school actually. I never told any of you, except Bonnie, but, I went to med school." he ended his statement and cleared his throat, his heart beating harder in his chest. Bonnie hadn't even known he was going to reveal that.

Caroline,Lily, and Stefan all stared at Damon for a moment.

"I...I...I'm glad you decided to tell us." Lily said, looking confused, but she wasn't so sure she should be asking him questions right then. Though, she was saddened that he hadn't told her sooner, but, then even more sad that she had never even figured it out on her own, or noticed! Stefan felt this way as well, hurt, and disappointed in himself. Caroline was just surprised, and gave Bonnie a small look of 'you knew this girl?'

A few minutes later, there was another knock at the door. Mikael had struck up a conversation regarding school, and was telling Damon and Bonnie, as well as Lexi mostly, where he had gone to school. Lily motioned for no one to worry about it, she'd get it. She got up from the couch, and headed out of the living room. Bonnie had forgotten to mentioned Kai to Lily, but she knew there was probably more people coming.

When Lily opened the door, her blue eyes first saw the tall broad shouldered figure of Kai. Her eyes flickered up to his face and she smiled.

"Hello...come in, I'm Damon's mother, Lily." she said, his Grey-blue eyes meeting hers, and he smiled back at her, looking a little nervous. He reached a hand out towards her politely, and cleared his throat as he looked at the woman.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kai."

* * *

I hope you liked it! Please **leave a review**!


	31. A Change In The Weather

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait guys! I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 30** \- A Change In The Weather

"Kai," Bonnie said as she walked into the foyer standing several feet behind lily, "You're the last to get here."

Kai's eyes shifted from Lily, to the brown skinned woman behind her, and his lips remained tipped up at the corners, but, not quite as much as before.

Lily smiled, and stepped aside, so the man whom stood about as tall as Damon could step into the house. The door was closed behind him, and Kai stepped closed to Bonnie. There was a slightly awkward silence, being slowly filled in by chatter in the living room. Bonnie motioned Kai towards the living room before walking there with him.

"I'm glad you could come." Bonnie told him, though she was already feeling nervous from her toes to the top of her head again.

"I wouldn't miss it." Kai replied, and his eyes followed the back of her head as she walked further ahead of him.

As they made it into the living room, Damon's attention instantly went from his conversation with Abby, to Kai.  
He knew how he felt about the man, and, if it was his choice, he wouldn't be there; but, it wasn't his choice. Bonnie wanted to make...peace. No matter how much Damon felt wary, he wasn't going to press Bonnie unless there was viable reason too. So far, Kai had not done anything recent to warrant being distrusted.

"Kai, you know, Damon, and of course, Caroline." Bonnie said, motioning as she took a seat next to Damon, "This is my...mother in law, Lily, Damon's brother Stefan."

She was feeling, nervous on the next part. Kai was totally unaware of the fact that Bonnie's mother had returned, but, he was well aware of every detail regarding Abby abandoning her. He'd felt fiercely protective over Bonnie regarding her mother when they'd been dating.

"This is...Damon's friend Lexi." Bonnie said, deciding to save the hardest for last, licking at her lips she continued, "This is my mother. Abby; and, her fiance Mikael."

Kai's eyes had already shifted over to the woman, seeing the strong resemblance before Bonnie had even said anything. He blinked, his eyes flickering with an possessive emotion for a few seconds. Damon noticed this, and removed his eyes from Kai, his arm slowly moving behind Bonnie, and his hand touching her side.

"This is Kai." she introduced him, revealing no information on their past, nor who he was to her then. Was he her friend? No, he wasn't, but...he also wasn't no one. Finding the right word just seemed impossible at their current state.

"It's very nice to meet you." Abby said with a small to Kai, who struggled to give her a friendly look back. Bonnie was avoiding looking at her ex for the time being, but, Caroline's eyes were on him, and she could read into that conflicted look on his face.

Their eyes met, and Caroline didn't smile at him, nor give him a reassuring look. If anything her eyes were filled with a similar ache as Bonnie's. She refused to act as though she was glad he was there. She wasn't. Now that the pain of the scene at the hospital was long over, Caroline found it difficult to look at Kai, to want him to have a chance.

"I believe the food is ready, is everyone hungry?" Lily mentioned, trying to break the tension in the room. This worked for the most part, getting everyone up off the couch and chairs, and into the living room.

Damon linked his fingers with Bonnie's as they made their way behind Abby and Mikael.

"This is a beautiful home." Lexi smiled at them as she came up beside them.

"Thank you." Damon said back to her, and Bonnie gave her a small smile.

Stefan stepped over to Caroline who was walking slower than normal, lacking some of the pep she'd had at the beginning.

"Are you alright?" he questioned the blond, who turned her head to look at him, slowing to a complete stop in the hallway.

"I'm fine, just hoping this night goes well." Caroline told him, though her eyes didn't show quite this.

Stefan reached a hand out, and brushed his thumb along her cheek slowly, giving her a comforting look. While this comforted her, it also...worried her. It made her think back to what Bonnie had said about making sure Stefan knew they weren't serious, figuring out if she wanted to be, or not.

"Keep in mind, we can always end this sooner than planned." Damon told Bonnie quietly, as everyone was getting seated in the dining room.

She chuckled lightly, and nodded, though she had absolutely zero plans on ending anything sooner than planned.  
Bonnie was dead set on making this the first night of peace between everyone, or the last, whichever way it went, she was going to see it through.

"Let's just get through dinner." Bonnie told her husband, and the two of them were the last ones to get into the dinning room.

The food was all laid out, so everyone could get what they wanted. Since, Bonnie had decided she wanted it to be a fairly staff free night. Damon was waiting for her to change her mind on that when she saw how many dishes there would be to wash afterwards...

Bonnie and Damon sat beside each other, Caroline on the other side of Damon, Lily on the other side of Bonnie. Kai was seated across from Lily, Stefan across from Caroline, Abby across from Bonnie, Mikael across from Damon, and Lexi at the end adjacent from Lily and Kai.

"The food looks great." Mikael said smiling softly, and they all dug into the food, filling their plates.

In all honesty, the dinner table was not the place to discuss more serious tense things, and Bonnie hadn't expected to be discussing those things while eating. In fact, there was really only one person she needed to have a serious conversation with. For the rest of them, Bonnie was simply attempting to make getting together a tradition, she wanted to spend more time with her mother, she wanted them to grow closer.

"So, Damon... If you went to med school, how come you're not doing anything in the field?" Caroline asked casually, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him. Everyone else's attention went to him as well, and he blinked a few times.

Bonnie was prepared to say that, it wasn't something they needed to talk about right then, but, Damon surprisingly, opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, I actually never finished my last year. The family business takes up a great deal of my life. I wasn't sure I would be supported, so, I chose to throw in the towel, focus on what my father wanted me to focus on." Damon told everyone, and Lily's brow furrowed lightly, Stefan as well.

Giuseppe had been quite a weight for all of them. None of them were as happy as they would've been if they'd followed their dreams completely. Fortunately, there was still time.

"If you do decide to continue on that path, I'm sure you'll have no trouble rising in it." Abby commented as she finished a bite of her food.

"Not with his privilege." Caroline mentioned taking a drink of the wine in her glass, Damon's glass held sparkling cider.

"Caroline..." Bonnie said slowly, giving her a look.

Damon chuckled, "No, she's right. In my current financial state, and with who I am, I would likely be promoted into high positions with very little residency time."

"Is that really fair though? Out off the thousands of people working years in the low positions to become doctors, and you would become on by snapping your fingers?" Kai mentioned, and Bonnie was suddenly confused at where this dinner conversation as going.

"Alright, okay, can we..change the subject?" Bonnie questioned, feeling uncomfortable.

Lexi shook her head at the conversation as well, "He's worked hard too, I'm sure if he decides to go back into the medical field, he will work very hard. Being promoted sooner than others, does not mean he won't work hard as well."

Damon was slightly pale, not enjoying the sudden center of attention he was at.  
"I really have no idea what I am doing on that matter, privilege and all. For the sake of my wife, can we enjoy dinner?" he suggested, and Caroline was slightly red, feeling embarrassed for leading the conversation where it had gone. Not that it wasn't an important one.

Bonnie looked appreciatively at Damon and held one of his hands on the table. From that moment on, all conversation was lighter. Stefan was vaguely questioned about college, Caroline was asked about how her life at Whitmore was doing. Even Lily and Abby started to have more connective conversations. Lexi and Caroline seemed to be getting along very well, and Stefan as usual was mostly focused on Caroline. Kai was talking the least, but when he did talk, and when his lips turned up at the edges, he seemed happy to be there. His eyes would wander to Bonnie every so often, then to Caroline.

Bonnie said the least to Kai, and realized this as she was finishing her food, and second glass of wine.  
"Kai, you...used to work for a programming group... Are you still doing that?" she asked him, her foot tapping lightly underneath the table.

"No, I am not." Kai replied, tapping his fingers on the table lightly for a moment, "I work for a construction company."

She nodded, and her eyes moved to Caroline who was looking displeased with Kai's talking in general. The table was getting slightly awkward, so, finally everyone left the dining and on Damon's suggestion, everyone moved to the library for more drinks.

Bonnie finally saw an opportunity to speak to Kai on her own, without so many prying ears, and Caroline's death glare. She touched Damon's arm softly, before walking over to stop Kai before he could go into the library.

"Can we talk, somewhere private?" Bonnie asked him, he looked at her curiously, but nodded, understanding.

"Of course." Kai replied, and followed her back down the hallway.

Bonnie led Kai into the living room, where they both sat down on the couch, about a foot between them. Her heart was beating fairly quickly in her chest, but she was working on calming herself down.

"Look..." she took a breath, "I'm not sure yet if I want to be friends with you, or never see you again. I haven't decided that yet; but, I do know, I invited you here, because I need to talk to you. I need to get things off my chest, I need there to be no unspoken words between us."

"I understand. I came here to listen to you. All I've wanted since I hurt you...is to listen to what you have to say. I deserve whatever judgment you have, I won't ask you to forgive me." Kai told her, his blue-gray eyes pouring into her face.

Bonnie nodded softly, taking another deep breath. The conversation wasn't one that...would change her entire life, it wasn't one of the utmost importance, but it was one she needed to have to move on with her life. Perhaps, in that sense, it was life changing.

"A little bit before you got arrested..." she started, having to tap her foot lightly as she spoke, "...I found out I was pregnant."

Kai blinked, looking very confused, "Y...You..Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, I wanted to make my decision before I told you. I was worried if I came to you unsure, my choice would be swayed by your emotion." Bonnie explained, but Kai could see there was more to what was being told, by the look on her face.

Her eyes got a bit misty as she tried to continue, though it didn't hurt nearly as much as it used to...telling Kai was the hardest. He was the most painful conversation.

When Kai nodded, wanting her to continue without his input yet, she spoke again, "The day you got into the fight, I got acci...you, accidentally, got me knocked down some of the stairs outside." Bonnie took another breath, swallowing a bit, "Normally, a fall wouldn't hurt anything; but...I guess I was different..and...I miscarried."

A few tears dripped out of Bonnie's eyes, and Kai looked heartbroken, though he was also struggling to keep it together, to not say anything that would cause more pain, he was trying to find the right words.

"I didn't know if I wanted to have a child, I...looking back I probably would not have gone through with it..." Bonnie said taking a breath, her hands shaking a bit, "...but I d...d-didn't get to chose. That choice was taken away from...from me..and..."

More tears flooded her face, and she was completely unable to speak calmly, tiny cries inbetween her words, and breaths. Kai's own eyes were full of tears he couldn't contain.

"I am so sorry, Bonnie. I...I never meant to hurt you." he told her, moving a little closer to her.

"I know, but...I also don't know. I will never understand what...h-happened that day." Bonnie said taking a deep breath trying to calm herself.

Kai took a breath trying to keep himself level, and suddenly moved onto the floor in front of Bonnie looking utterly ashamed.

"I'm so...fucking sorry Bon. I don't even deserve to be sorry, or deserve your forgiveness, and I don't want it." he told her, looking up at her with glistening pain filled eyes, "I just want..I just... Please, tell me what I can do. I will do anything. If you want me to leave, never see me again, I will leave. If you want to..yell at me, yell, if you want to hit me, I'll let you. I will do...a-anything for you. Even if it means never seeing you again."

"K-Kai... I'm not sure what I want to do about...it, but, I will figure it out. I just needed you to know about what happened." Bonnie told him, licking at her lips, and she stood up from the couch, moving away from him, trying to breath normally, "I do think it'd be best if you left for now."

"Of...of course. Please...let me know if there's anything I can do." Kai said, moving up from the floor.

Bonnie nodded, feeling a lump in her throat still, and turned, walking out of the living room and back down the hallway to the library. As she was walking, Caroline nearly passed her, until she saw the slightly tear stained expression.

"Hey...what's wrong?" Caroline asked Bonnie stopping to put her hand on her shoulder.

"We can...talk about it later..." Bonnie replied, and was given a slight nod.

As Bonnie turned into the library, her eyes searching for Damon, Caroline continued down the hallway making it to the parlor.

Her blue eyes spotted Kai, standing near the coat hangers, and instantly her body felt warmer. She didn't want to look at him, and her anger was so sudden. She hadn't felt quite this way at the hospital, and part of her wondered why she had to be feeling it then.

Kai's eyes met hers, and saw the frustration there. She saw the sadness in his eyes, and realized Bonnie was likely upset because she's spoken with him.

Caroline was about to turn into the kitchen when Kai spoke, "Why are you looking at me like that? What did I do?" he questioned.

"What did you do?" she asked mostly rhetorically, turning to face him.

"I came here to try and make up, I know I hurt Bonnie but..." he sighed, his eyes still a bit red, "I'm leaving now, that's what Bonnie wanted."

Caroline shook her head, looking upset with him still, and crossed her arms over her chest, "Alright, bye." she looked away from him.

"Caroline." Kai said stepping forward, "Caroline...Care, talk to me."

"You're so fucking ridiculous, Kai." she told him looking back at him, her eyes filled with tears.

Caroline stepped even closer, "Yes I know you hurt Bonnie, I know you're sorry." she told him, "...but you didn't just hurt Bonnie, you hurt me too!"

"When you got arrested, it wasn't just Bonnie who never saw you, it was me. Of everything, of you hurting Bonnie, did you never even stop to think about the fact you hurt me too Kai?" she asked him, some tears falling along over her face.

Kai furrowed his brow, "I...I'm sorry, Care. I.." Caroline interrupted him, "I was your friend...We were friends Kai! You went to Bonnie's hospital bed to make sure _she_ was okay, you came here to apologize to _her_ , but when did you ever come to apologize to me? I cared about you too."

Caroline felt like she was wrong, in a sense, for making the night about her, but she couldn't contain how she was feeling. If it made her a bad person, to want Kai to think of her as well, then she would be the bad guy all she had to. Her feelings mattered.

Kai eliminated the space between himself and Caroline, and wrapped his arms around her. It was a notion that was at first surprising, but, as quickly as he had hugged her, she was hugging him back. The memories of Bonnie and Kai were ones most that knew Bonnie remembered. They remembered Bonnie and Kai holding hands, kissing, sitting underneath trees, out and about on their dates. They remembered thinking, how cute, they are such a cute couple. Everyone remembered how Kai had hurt Bonnie.

Caroline remembered staying up until 3am with Kai when he was too nervous to ask Bonnie to go out. Caroline remembered getting Bonnie's ring size for Kai, just in case. Caroline remembered going to Kai when Bonnie was spending time with her father, because Kai was the only other person beside Bonnie, she could talk to. She remembered ice cream, and Dirty Dancing at midnight; she remembered Polaroids from the amusement park. She remembered waking up one morning and finding out Kai was arrested, she remembered being told he was going to prison. She remembered pretending she had never friends with him, in order to focus on comforting Bonnie.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you." Kai whispered, squeezing her tightly, and her chin rested along his shoulder.

Caroline sniffled basking in the hug for another moment before pulling away.

"Thank you." she told him, and he nodded, lingering slightly before turning around, and making his way out of the front door, and then he was gone.

In the library, Bonnie had walked over near Damon. He looked over at her, seeing the slight distress on her face, and instantly reached over, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Did you speak to Kai?" he asked Bonnie quietly, and she nodded.

"I asked him to leave. I'm not sure if...he'll be around again, right now." Bonnie replied, and then took a deep breath.

Their attention was placed back on the room, and the hum of conversation. It seemed the rest of the group was doing very well. Bonnie felt she should perhaps mingle a bit more, and her eyes shifted to Abby who was sitting beside Mikael.

"I don't think I want him around, ever, if I'm being honest." Damon whispered, looking back over at Bonnie.

He wished he'd gotten a chance to speak to Kai – but then again wasn't sure what he would have said. It wasn't exactly his place to tell the man to never show his face again..and, Damon didn't even know if he actually deserved that.

"I know." Bonnie said giving him an understanding look, and not disagreeing, nor agreeing with him.

After a moment, she let go of Damon's hand, and made her way over to her mother. Abby looked up and smiled softly at her, scooting over a bit so she could sit next to her. Mikael was having a conversation with Lily about his children. Bonnie could hear Lily telling Mikael that two was definitely enough for her.

"Thank you for inviting us..." Abby told Bonnie, turning so she was positioned more towards her daughter.

"You're welcome... I want you here." Bonnie told her, nodding for a second, "...I really do. I want us to...start over."

Abby smiled, and nodded as well, "I would love that...and if you don't want Maddox to be.." she licked her lips trying find the right word but Bonnie shook her head, reaching a hand out and placing it over Abby's.

"I want to be a part of Maddox's life too. I want this year to be about family, and...despite everything...you're still my family, you, Maddox...and...even Mikael. I'm sure I'll get to know him better too." Bonnie told her, feeling a little bit better already.

"What abut your father?" Abby questioned, "...Forget it, you don't need to explain to me. What ever you and Rudy need to do, do it on your own time. No pressure from me."

"Thank you." she replied, taking a slow breath and Abby ran her thumb over Bonnie's hand softly.

Damon was watching them sitting together from several yards away, he smiled. He was glad Bonnie was getting along well with her mother, even if, he wasn't so sure he trusted her. He was beginning to wonder...if...he was being paranoid. He didn't trust Abby, Kai, sometimes his own mother, and he certainly didn't trust that his father would cause them some grief again. Even behind bars, Giuseppe was going to hinder them somehow. Damon felt this deep in his marrow – it was like a ache of concern he couldn't place. He wasn't sure when, but...one of the people he didn't trust, was going to give him more reason.

His eyes flickered over to the entrance of the library as Caroline walked in carrying a tray of cheese, crackers, and fruit. She looked a bit flustered, just like Bonnie had, and Damon gave her a look. Caroline simply flashed him a soft smile and continued into the room.

"Lexi...I forgot to ask, how did your interview for a nurses position at Mystic General go?" Damon asked as he sat down next to the blonde.

"Oh! It went great, I hope. I should be hearing back in the next few days." Lexi told him happily, tapping her fingers lightly on her knee.

"I hope you get it." Damon told her with a smile, glad that he had invited her.

Lexi nodded, and turned a bit more towards him, "I hope you decide what you really want to do with your life. Don't let what's happened with your father control your life. You don't have to run the company if it's not your wish."

"It...it is my responsibility though." he said and sighed lightly.

"Is it really though?" she questioned mostly rhetorically, and this made Damon think...

Meanwhile, Bonnie was still conversing with her mother.

"I have to admit, I have a little concerned about you still being on the fence about what you want to do regarding ballet." Abby told her daughter, tilting her head to the side, "I know it might not be my place right now to comment, but, I want to be honest."

Bonnie nodded softly, "I'm worried as well. I love ballet, I've always loved ballet; but, being at Whitmore was just...not for me anymore."

"Maybe it could help, if you stopped thinking of ballet as related to Whitmore. Think of ballet as your love. Where do you want to take your love, what do you want to do with it?" her mother questioned, looking at her curiously, but not expecting a direct answer.

"Did you ever feel...out of place in ballet?" Bonnie asked Abby, wanting to know the things she had been too young to think about before her mother left.

Abby chuckled lightly before speaking, "Yes. Sometimes I would have weeks where I wondered if dancing was worth all of the drama that it entailed. The only time I felt truly myself, truly happy in ballet, was...when I was teaching."

Bonnie smiled, "I remember that. I remember watching you smiling, teaching, seeming so happy to help others learn your passion, make it theirs." she brushed a lock of her hair behind her right ear, "I wish I could make a decision, move on from Whitmore."

"Let me ask you something.." Abby said and squeezed Bonnie's hand, "Are you really unsure of what you want to do, or, are you just afraid?"

"I'm afraid." Bonnie whispered after a moment, her eyes flickering away from her mother, "I'm afraid to move on. So much has changed in such a short amount of time, I think...part of me doesn't want to move on from Whitmore, my old life."

"Bonnie, sweetheart... You've already moved on. You have a wonderful, caring...handsome, husband." Abby smirked teasingly and lovingly at her, "...You survived a horrible attempted murder, your estranged mother coming home. You've already made a life, a new life, for yourself, for your friends and family. Everyone's life is different now, than it was half a year ago. Including mine."

Bonnie smiled, her eyes getting a little teary, and she nodded, unsure of what to say, but knowing her mother was right. Her life was different, and not in a bad way. She liked where her life had gone, despite the traumatic parts of it. Everything had happened for a reason, right?

"We should go out to eat sometime, including Maddox." Bonnie suggested after a second.

"I'd love that, you, me, and Maddox." Abby agreed with a smile.

Soon, the dinner party was over. Abby and Mikael leaving first, Lily deciding not to drive back to the apartment that night, and making her way upstairs to her room.

"I had a nice time, you should invite me over more often." Lexi chuckled as she said goodbye to Bonnie and Damon in the parlor.

Damon grabbed Lexi's coat for her, and helped her put it on.

"It was really great meeting you, I would love to hang out sometime, when we can have a little more time to actually talk to each other." Bonnie chuckled, giving the woman an apologetic look, and was slightly surprised when the blonde wrapped her arms around her and hugged her affectionately.

"I would love that! Damon has my number, obviously, call me anytime, I love doing brunch." Lexi smiled widely at Bonnie, before backing away from the hug, and giving her a kiss on the cheek. She did the same thing with Damon, and then walked out of the front door, leaving the pair both slightly red faced and flustered.

Bonnie licked her lips a little and then cleared her throat, "Well...she's nice."

Damon chuckled, "Yes, she is." he agreed and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Are you guys staying the night?" Damon asked as he turned around to see Caroline and Stefan standing behind them.

"No, we're...going to head to Caroline's." Stefan replied, looking slightly pink, and Caroline smiled at him as she put her coat on.

Bonnie stepped over to give Caroline a hug, squeezing her extra tight, knowing she must've had a difficult evening too with Kai around.

"I'm gonna need that pie plate back asap." Care said as she hugged Bonnie back, and they both chuckled softly.

"Drive safe you two..." Bonnie told Stefan and Caroline as they made their way out of the front door.

There were a lot of dishes to wash, but, as Bonnie took her shoes off and shook her hair out a few times, Damon already knew they were NOT getting done that night. They were both tired, and wanted to relax even further. Relaxing with a group of people, was not the same as alone.

"Dishes tomorrow, ice cream now?" Damon asked, and Bonnie groaned slightly moving closer to him.

"Yes...this is why I love you." she replied, and pressed her face up against his chest.

Damon smirked, and in a second lifted her up off the floor with ease. Bonnie wrapped her legs and arms around him, and as he walked into the kitchen to get the ice cream, she swayed lightly with his steps.

After getting the ice cream carton, and two spoons, he put on arm around her waist to hold her as he went up the stairs leaving one light on so he wasn't blindly walking.

"Ahh!" Bonnie squealed softly as he tossed her onto the bed. He then tossed her the ice cream, and she set the carton and spoons to the side.

As Damon closed the bedroom door, Bonnie pulled her shirt, and leggings off, sighing softly with relief. Damon stripped his clothing off down to his boxers as well, and moved onto the bed with his wife who was lying on her back in her bra and panties.

"The bed...is so nice." she smiled, slightly buzzed, and he chuckled at her.

Damon opened the ice cream as Bonnie sat back up, and handed her a spoon. They both sat there, eating spoonfulls of salted caramel ice cream for several minutes without a single word being said.

"I know what I want to do." Bonnie said suddenly, twirling her spoon around in the carton slowly.

Damon looked at her curiously with his spoon in his mouth and she smiled.

"I want to be a ballet instructor, be my own boss, teach children; like my mom did." she explained.

"I can see that." he said slowly after taking the spoon out of his mouth.

Bonnie smiled, "Really?"

"Yes. I want you to be happy, I'll help in anyway that I can." Damon assured her, and she smiled even wider.

"On the subject of knowing what...we..want to do." he started, and Bonnie lifted her brows at him, "I've decided... No more stalling, no more letting Giuseppe control my life."

"I want to finish up med school, see where it takes me." he told her, and she nearly squealed hurling herself forward at him, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I still!" he started gasping slightly with surprise as he was sent onto his back in bed, the empty carton and spoons falling off the bed, "...have to run the company, it's going to be a stretch."

Bonnie smiled at him, and kissed his lips affectionately, "...I believe in you. You're going to be a great...doctor dude."

Damon chuckled, "You're going to be a great teacher lady."

She giggled, and soon after felt her husbands lips press against hers lovingly. Damon's hands slid along her hips, caressing the skin there right above her panties. No more words were spoken as they kissed in the moonlight that shown through the balcony doors into the room.

* * *

The next day, Damon finally had to board a plane to go to his first business trip of the year. Neither Bonnie nor Damon were ecstatic about it, but, they had known it was coming two weeks before.

"Part of me really wants to go with you..." Bonnie said with a bit of a frown as she stood in front of Damon in the parlor still in her robe she'd put on almost an hour before when they woke up.

"You can you know, I can pick you up and take you just as you are." Damon smirked at her, stepping closer and tickling at her sides.

Bonnie giggled and jumped back from him to stop him from tickling her.

"No.. no.. I really think that...since this is the first trip of the year, your first trip as sole owner, you should take care of things yourself, show people you're just as...clearly more..of a strong leader than your father." she said, and smiled at him, placing her hands behind her back.

"Really? You won't be lonely..." he asked her.

Bonnie shook her head, but smiled at him teasingly, "I can spend time with Abby, and Maddox... I'll be fine."

"What about me?" Damon said with a little fuax pout, "I don't think I can be away from you for too long..."

She laughed as he moved closer to her and swept her up off her feet and planted about half dozen kisses along her face. When he set her down on the floor he squeezed her butt twice with his left hand.

Bonnie squealed and shoved him playfully.

"Well, when you get back, you can show me how much you missed me." she smiled innocently at him, and Damon narrowed his eyes.

"You're naughty." Damon growled softly and picked her back up biting overly playfully at her neck and not setting her down as she giggled in between gasps and kicked her feet.

"Damon! Stop! You have to leave before you never do!" Bonnie huffed to breath as he set her down reluctantly.

Damon chuckled, and grabbed her face softly with both his hands before speaking, "I will miss you baby." he whispered before kissing her on the lips.

Bonnie kissed him back lovingly, and when she pulled away she looked in his eyes, and smiled.

"I already miss you."

* * *

The next few days were spent mostly with Caroline, staying the night at her apartment, and going out to eat at Apple Bee's way to many times.

"I'm obsessed with their spinach and artichoke dip though, okay!" Caroline said as she kicked her feet up lightly while they sat on the couch.

"Ugh! God, yes, and, I need more of those...barbecue things, you know..." Bonnie said licking her lips and leaning her head back.

"Those were, so good!" the blonde squealed and they started laughing about the fact they were fan-girling over food.

Caroline smiled and leaned to grab a bottle of powder pink nail polish off the coffee table. After shaking it a few times, she handed it to Bonnie.

"Do my toes, please?" she asked, and Bonnie nodded, sitting up, and letting her friend put her foot in her lap.

"You have to do mine after this..." Bonnie told Caroline who nodded and wiggled her toes once before keeping them still so Bonnie could paint them.

It was nice, getting to spent time with Caroline alone. Though, half of the time they started talking about Stefan and Damon... It was nice to have the time together, and neither of them judged the other for wanting to talk about _the boys._ Though, the more recent conversation topic had been about Bonnie's career change.

"I'm so excited for you to have your own studio." Care said as she watched Bonnie slowly cover her toes in the matte polish.

"Don't get too excited... I'm not sure when all of that is happening." Bonnie chuckled, and used a q-tip to get excess polish off the side of Caroline's toe.

Caroline shrugged, "Still, you decided, finally. I am really happy for you. I was kind of worried you were going to ditch ballet entirely."

"Oh... No way. I might be a little rusty, but, I still love it." she replied, and shimmed her shoulders softly.

* * *

Two more days later, Damon was still in California renegotiating the third deal he had to look over. There were five schools in California that had contracts with Salvatore Ballet, two of them had agreed to keep contracts as is, no meetings were needed other than resigning of all the paperwork. The last three who disagreed, and wanted to talk to Damon, were not as easy to go through.

However, Damon had barreled through, losing only a slightly margin of profit in the process. It would be easy to pull back up within a year, and they would have no trouble funding with the means they accumulated from other deals.

As Damon sat in another black swivel chair, signing papers, talking with his assistant, he missed Bonnie.  
He had forgotten how much he hated the meetings, and now that he was the sole owner, the sole man in charge, everything was slowly piling up on his shoulders.

"We can will cut down half a percent, but that's as low as we're going to down it." Damon heard from several seats away, and then the sound of a pen scribbling on paper.

"Mr. Salvatore, do you agree to these terms?"

"Mr. Salvatore, the half percent will not cause a significant dip, espeically not with the two percent upwards we got from the...Stammers."

Damon sighed and lifted his head up, "As I said twice before, I will take nothing less, than one percent down. Unless of course, Ms. Valasek, you believe your school could run on full functionality without the five hundred thousand dollars Salvatore Ballet funds it every year."

The red head woman cleared her throat, and gave him a losing but strong look.

"One percent is it."

Damon have her a insincere smile, and leaned back in his chair. As the group of people in the room left to type up new contracts, Damon pulled his phone out of his pocket.

 **Damon:** You're beautiful.

His phone vibrated not a second later.

 **Bonnie:** You can't even see me!

 **Damon:** I don't have to love.

Damon smiled at his phone, and loosened the collar of his tie as he waited for a reply. He'd hardly had time to even call Bonnie the last few days.

 **Bonnie:** you...you better get your butt home soon.

 **Damon:** Oh I will, don't you worry Princess. ;)

* * *

Stefan at in the living room of the mansion, his mother seated next to him. In between them? A box of pizza, if you can believe it, and a bottle of red wine. For the first time in what felt like years, they were actually spending time together.

"How are you doing mom?" Stefan asked Lily, furrowing his brow a bit, "...since...dad was...sentenced."

Lily pursed her lips a bit as she picked up a third slice of pizza. In an un-lily-like fashion, she was dressed in dark blue stretchy pants, and a oversize t-shirt, her red hair pulled up behind her head.

"I'm...not sure how I am entirely. For the longest time I thought I loved the man, and...at one point I did, maybe I still do; but, I know he never loved me, and I have to..." Lilian sighed, "...I have to move on."

Stefan nodded, with a slightly sad look on his face, "You deserve to be happy..."

"Even if I haven't been the best mother?" she questioned, taking a bite of pizza.

"You're here now, and that's all I care about. I'm just glad you're safe from him." he told her with a loving look on his face.

Lily smiled softly, and spoke after finishing her food. "What about you? I know there's something going on with you and the blonde one...Caroline."

Stefan blushed softly, and tried to brush it off, leaning back further on the couch.

"She's great. She's fun, and exciting, sweet, and kind, even if a little fiery, and not always following the rules. Caroline is...she's pretty amazing, and I.." he went to finish but couldn't find the right words.

"You love her." Lily said with a smile which grew larger as her son blushed harder.

"No.. I...I might." Stefan tried to brush it off again,but his flushed appearance ruined his cool.

Lily chuckled, and closed the lid on the pizza box since they were both done.

"Why don't we go out? Damon's coming home tonight, we can continue our mom-son time, and then come home to have dinner as a family." she suggested, and Stefan nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like a good idea." he told her, and then they both got up to take the pizza to the kitchen, and get dressed in clothes for leaving the house. Lily telling Stefan she'd ground him like he was a teenager if he took any pictures of her dressed in her lazy clothes.

"Oh, I forgot to mention... Tomorrow, I have a date with Julian." Lily told Stefan as they were walking out of the front door.

Stefan blinked, "Julian... I remember him. Do you think he still really cares for you?" he asked her curiously.

"I promise, I wouldn't be going out with him, if I didn't." she smiled reassuringly, and they made their way to Lilian's car.

* * *

Damon stood at the airport, having just gotten his luggage. Bonnie had told him she would be there to pick him up. After almost a week being apart, he was more than happy to finally be back, and getting to see her again. He had gotten her a gift, which was tucked into his suitcase. He stood, in his suit, which he was aching to get out of, his jacket and tie slung over one of his shoulder.

His baby blue eyes flickered along the room. Bonnie was late. Damon knew that she tended to be a little late to things, she got distracted sometimes; however, it was going on fifteen minutes.

Damon pulled out his phone to call her, right when his phone started to ring, a call from her.

"Hey honey, is everything alright? I expected you'd be here an hour ahead of time, jumping me the second I got off the plane..." he teased, but the voice that came from the other end, was not one of happiness, or joking.

"Damon..." Bonnie's voice was worried, "You need to get to Mystic General. Something's happened with Lily, I'm on my way there now."

Damon's heartbeat picked up in his chest, and he was hanging up, calling a car, and hurrying to the other end of the airport with hauling his suitcase, his tie and jacket falling to the floor. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, similar to when he had gotten the call from the hospital about Bonnie those months before.

Bonnie and Damon somehow got to the hospital at the same time, and this might have been due to Damon pressuring his driver to haul ass on the freeway.

"Do you know what's going on?" Damon asked Bonnie heavy breathed as they walked down the hallways and to an elevator.

"No, I just...got a call from the hospital, I guess Lily put me on her emergency contacts." Bonnie explained her eyes wide with concern, heart beating hard in her chest, "I called Caroline, she should be here, she was closer in town. I was on my way to see Abby."

Damon nodded and pushed the elevator button, rounding into the elevator with her. The ride up was an anxious one that took too long. They knew it couldn't be good, as she was on one of the higher floors it seemed. As they walked off the elevator, a blonde blur came bolting at them and Caroline stopped in front of them.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you guys are here." she gasped, her eyes nearly as worried as theirs.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around Caroline for a second before pulling away.

"Do you know what's going on?" Damon questioned, and his head moved around as he tried to look for his mothers room number, or see if any commotionw as going on. His eyes made their way back to Caroline's.

"Lily was in an accident, that's all I know." she said, and she started shaking a bit, "Guys... I don't know where Stefan is."

Bonnie blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"Stefan and Lily were together, at least I thought so. I called him, three times, I left a message, he should be here." Caroline said, starting to panic, and her words were worrying Damon further.

Bonnie quickly grabbed Damon's hand, squeezing it, trying to maintain her own composer. Damon's head was in a whirl already. It seemed whenever he left, something bad happened. If they hadn't told Caroline what was going on, and hadn't allowed her to see Lily...then his mother hadn't just been taken with some bumps and bruises.

Suddenly, a man stepped over to them, asking for Damon.

"Mr. Salvatore, I'm Dr. Griffin." the man said, as Bonnie and Caroline stood on both sides of him, "I...think you might want to sit down."

"No, I want to know what's going on, now." Damon insisted, and Bonnie looked up at Damon furrowing her brow.

"Very well..." Dr. Griffin said, and his posture was one that expressed apologies, "Lilian was in a car accident, suffering a great amount of blood loss from a severed posterior tibial artery. We did all we could to save her, but, she passed away after the third attempt to revive her. There other wounds, but, the blood loss from the major atery, is what ultimately lead other death."

Damon's heart nearly stopped in his chest, and Bonnie's hand fell from his as she went still.

"Oh my god..." Bonnie whispered, and Caroline started crying near instantly, while Damon and Bonnie stood staring at the doctors.

"There...There wasn't anyone else in the car was there? Stefan?" Bonnie questioned panicking, her eyes filling up with tears.

"No, Lilian was the only one. I'm so sorry for your loss." the doctor replied.

Damon's eyes moved from the doctor, to the floor, as though he was looking through it into the darkest depths below. Tears leaked from Bonnie's eyes and she put a hand on her stomach, feeling like she was going to fall apart right there. Lily had not been someone she had grown utterly attached to, but in that moment... Her feet felt like they weren't going to hold her up much longer.

Damon stood, numb. While his fingers shook lightly, and his eyes glazed over, inside, he felt a ripple of pain that shot from his heart outwards, and was so painful, that it turned to ice in nearly the same moment. Numbing, cold, indescribable ice.

As Caroline sobbed lightly, they heard footsteps behind them, and for some reason, Bonnie felt the need to turn around.

"Stefan!" Bonnie gasped, and sent herself hurling towards the man, wrapping her arms around him.

"Oh god, Stefan you're okay." she cried softly, and Damon and Caroline turned around a second later.

Caroline ran over to him as well, tears streaming her face, "Fuck, Stefan, I thought you were with Lily..."

Stefan furrowed his brow, looking at all of them with concern, but, most of all, confusion. "N-No, Lily and I went to get drinks, but then I remembered I had a last minute essay, and she told me she was going to go to the airport..."

Stefan's eyes which seemed to have shifted into a slightly different shade of green in his worry, met Damon's empty, dark eyes, that poured right through him as though he wasn't even there.

"What happened?"

* * *

 **Please leave a review!**


	32. Devil's On Your Shoulders

**A/N:** I just want to thank you guys for all your support over the last sixteen months! I can't believe it's been almost a year and a half since I first posted this story. We've still got a long way to go, and I am super happy you guys are still here.

* * *

 **Chapter 31 -** Devil's On Your Shoulders (Strangers In Your Head.)

With Stefan still standing idly confused, Bonnie pulled back from him, as Caroline remained clinging to him for something resembling dear life. Her green eyes flickered to Damon, looking at him to tell his brother what had happened; but, judging by the grim gaze that her husband held, Bonnie decided not to put that responsibility on him. The second she told Stefan, she could go to Damon, and comfort him; but, first she needed to do what she knew Damon would appreciate someday when the grief wasn't so heavy.

"Stefan." Bonnie spoke her gaze turning back to the honey haired man, and Caroline pulled away form Stefan standing a half foot away. "Lily was in an accident. She didn't make it."

Bonnie did her best - though her own tears were dripping down her face – to keep her breath slow, and voice calm.  
Stefan blinked, seeming to have a hard time registering what had just been said.

"W-What?" Stefan exhaled heavily, his eyes taking a few long seconds to get red and glimmer, "No... I just...No she can't..."

"Everything is going to be okay." Caroline said quickly putting a hand on Stefan's shoulder as a few tears started to drip from his eyes.

With the news finally out, Bonnie turned to Damon and stepped closer to him, very worried about the fact that he wasn't crying, speaking, or moving. It was hardly noticeable that he was even breathing. She furrowed her brow, her tears dripping onto her shirt.

"Damon..." Bonnie whispered, fighting the urge to break down herself, it wasn't her mother who died, it was Damon's. She needed to be there for him, right? Not a mess who wasn't helping. This is how she felt anyhow.

"Damon... I'm here." She told him slowly, "Do you want me to hold you?"

He didn't reply to her question; but, after a few seconds, he seemed to snap back into reality, his gaze becoming self aware, though still dark and full of a caged pain. One of Damon's shaking hands moved up to rake though his hair, and he took a deep breath.

"I know this is a very difficult time for all of you." Dr. Griffin spoke after a moment with a caring tone, "However, we will need someone to confirm Lilian's identity before she can be transferred to a funeral home."

Bonnie was prepared to speak up; but, Damon beat her too it, almost too quickly.

"I will. I want t...I will see her." Damon spoke, swallowing hard, and shoving his hands into his pockets, "Please, give my family and I a moment."

His voice was too calm, though a sliver of pain of heard by Bonnie who knew him best. Stefan was crying now, not quite sobbing, but, his breath hitched every now and then, and his tears were dripping onto Caroline who had wrapped her arms around him tightly.

Dr. Griffin nodded, and slowly walked away from the scene, Damon turning to look at the small group. They all looked so sad, and he could see that even though Bonnie was doing her best to hold it together for his sake, her own anxiety was creeping up her body. He of all people knew she didn't do well in high pressure situations when it came to family and personal matters. Her panic attack at the wedding, during the new years party.

"We'll be fine..." Damon spoke slowly, but his gaze moved away from them, and he didn't move to hug Bonnie, nor allow her to touch him.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." he said, his jaw setting as he looked behind them near the elevator doors.

Bonnie's gaze shifted, and she saw the same person Damon was seeing. Enzo.

Enzo had just stepped out of an elevator with a worried look on his face, more than worried, and it was obvious he knew what everyone else knew. The question was, how did he find out so quickly, and why was he there? It seemed like it had been so long since they'd seen him – in reality only a few weeks.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked rather aggressively after having taken a series of three hauled ass steps over to Enzo before he could get anywhere near Bonnie.

"I heard about...Lily..." Enzo said taking a deep breath his eyes a bit wide, "I'm so sorry, Damon, I know that you probably don't want me here b-"

Damon's hands squeezed into fists, and he took a breath before speaking, "You need to leave. You can come to the funeral; but you need to leave my family, my friends, anyone I know, and me alone right now."

Enzo blinked, obviously trying to find words, his lips parting to speak.

"Leave!" Damon ordered, and Enzo jolted on his feet actually startled, and whirled around to the elevator without another word or look. How he found out, and why he thought it was okay to show up, would remain unanswered that day.

More tears ran down Bonnie's face, and she quickly moved to get closer to her husband, having to take many more steps than him.

"Just take me home..." Stefan said suddenly to Caroline, wiping at his face, "P-Please just take me home."

"Of course." Caroline agreed quickly, wiping at her own face trying to compose herself.

Damon turned to look at his brother, having no words to say. No words of comfort would come from his mouth, and he had no words of expression on the situation. All he could do was stare into Stefan's eyes with his own. While Damon's eyes were dark, and pain filled, as Caroline led Stefan away, Damon swore the only thing in his brothers teary eyes was the abyss. Despite the wetness, and redness, his green eyes appeared void of any real emotion.

As Caroline and Stefan disappeared into the elevator, Bonnie placed a hand on Damon's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, baby." Bonnie whispered, and her emerald gaze met his, "I..."

She shook her head, finding it difficult herself to come up with any other words. Damon licked at his lips, tears finding themselves stuck in his eyes. However; after a moment Dr. Griffin walked back over, seeing that half the party had left.

"Mr. Salvatore. Are you ready to see the body?" he asked, and Damon's eyes moved from both the doctor and Bonnie, staring down the hallway.

"Yes." Damon replied.

Bonnie folded her arms to held her calm before speaking, "Would you like me to go with you?"

As much as she did not want to see a dead body, she would do what she needed to, what Damon needed her to. However, when he declined with a shake of his head, she had to admit to herself of being relieved; but, she was even more concerned for Damon.

How would seeing his mothers lifeless body effect him?

"I think I'd like to go by myself." he told her in a low tone that was too calm, but perhaps him being numb was the best for now. He could break down in the privacy of their home, where she could comfort him better.

"Of course. I'll wait outside for you." Bonnie said, and touched his arm very lightly, her eyes looking into the side of his face until he turned, and walked away with the doctor.

The doctor led Damon down a private elevator, where a woman dressed casually in gray skinny jeans, a similarly colored long sleeve shirt, and a white lab coat met them at the very lowest and coldest floor of the hospital.

The morgue smelled heavily of both toxic and nontoxic chemicals, as well as a light cement scent with a looming metallic after-thought. The only other scent, was that of a floral air freshener that was meant to mask the other smells; instead, it only gave off the mental image of a decomposing flower girl. This, along with the bitter chill in the air, brought goosebumps to Damon's skin, and an even tighter heaviness upon his shoulders.

"I'm not sure if it'll be comforting to know; but, due to the extent of the sudden trauma, the deceased would have gone unconscious upon impact, and with how quickly she bled out, would not have woken, nor felt any pain upon passing." The female medical examiner said. Her name tag was one in the shape of a sleeping skeleton cat, and contained only one name: Anna.

Damon nodded, his throat tight. Did that make him feel better? Knowing his mother most likely did not feel any pain while she died... He wasn't sure, all he could feel in that moment as they reached the end of the cold corridor, was fear.

"Anna here, has been our lead medical examiner for seven years. I can ensure you, she will take perfect care of Lilian once the confirmation is done, and until she is prepared for transfer." Dr. Griffin explained.

"Lily. She preferred to be called Lily." Damon explained, being unable to hear any more people refer to his mother by her full name like Giuseppe often did.

"I understand completely." Anna told Damon as they made it into the largest room, and they could easily see a covered body on a table across the way. "I prefer Anna over Annabelle."

The three of them continued over to the table that Lily was lying on. The metal table was shiny, and smelled very freshly of bleach and lemons. It was obvious the table had just been cleaned up of any bodily fluids and blood.

"Are you ready?" Anna asked Damon, grabbing who corners of the blue blanket that was placed over the body.

Damon nodded; but, there was no answer that could encompass just how unprepared he was.

The medical examiner pulled the cover back, and Damon's eyes poured into what w as undoubtedly the face and bare shoulders of his mother. Her red hair was damp from having been cleaned, and was slicked back a bit, fanning out on the table, and lying lightly on her shoulders. Her skin was very pale; her lips, eyelids, and the very edges of her being tinted slightly blue.

Inhaling softly, Damon blinked for the first time in what felt like minutes. No one, not even the doctor said anything for the time being, allowing him to let the vision before him settle in. His fingers twitched, and his heart squeezed in his chest.

"This is her. This is my mother, Lily Marie Salvatore." he spoke just loud enough for the man and woman standing beside him to hear.

"Thank you. Would you like a moment alone with her?" Anna questioned, as she began to fill out several papers on a clip board that appeared seemingly out of no where.

Damon nodded, but before they left him alone, he was given several papers to sign, and asked where he would like his mothers body to be transferred for a ceremony.

Then, suddenly, it was just Lily's cold dead body, and him. His eyes scanned across her face, neck and shoulders. She had several bruises, and small open cuts. He didn't want to imagine what the lower half of her body must have looked like.

Damon took a shaky inhale, and the tears that had been almost freezing along his lash line, finally started to drip down his face, his hand moving up to meet his mouth...

Meanwhile, Bonnie was standing outside in the cool winter air. The chemical and far too clean smell of the hospital was unnerving for her. The hospital itself reminding her of her time in a coma. Her breath billowed out in front of her face in clouds, and her hands shook from both the chill in the air, and her nervousness. Worried for Damon, she had half the thought to walk back in, and find him. It'd been twenty minutes.

Pacing back and fourth across the circled drive through entrance, she bounced softly on her heels trying to stay warm and distract herself. Caroline and Stefan were long gone, but that didn't stop Bonnie was worrying about them either.  
She couldn't believe Lily was dead. Of all people, Damon's mother. He had essentially no parents left. The worthless no good bastard that was Giuseppe was locked away, and now... Well. Bonnie felt a weight on her. One of sadness, and anxiety.

She had just been getting close to Lily, finally, after so long... For the first time since they met, she felt they might actually be really good friends within the next few months. Now, all that was ripped away. Another mother figure, ripped out of her life. Abby had ripped herself out by choice, and Lily had been taken. Abby was back; but, part of Bonnie wasn't sure who she would have preferred back. Abby, or Lily.

"Does that make me a terrible person?" Bonnie whispered to herself, vocalizing her thoughts in a hushed tone.

Any tears she cried seemed to stop cold on her cheeks halfway thought, the breeze making her nose feel like an icicle... As she was turning to pace back the way she'd came, Bonnie saw Damon walking out of the automatic doors, and rushed over to him breathing heavily.

"How did it go?" Bonnie questioned, and the second this came out of her mouth she knew it wasn't the best question; but, what else was she supposed to ask? Not talking at all made her feel completely useless.

Damon actually chuckled an exhausted, frustrated chuckle. Raking a hand through his hair that was already start to stiffen from the cold, he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"How did it go... I saw my mothers dead body." he replied as started to walk ahead of Bonnie, but was walking the wrong way to get to her car.

"Damon the car is..." she started, having to almost jog to keep up with him.

Damon turned around, "I had to see Lily's dead, bruised, pale, decomposing body, and tell two people whom I've never met in my entire life, that, it was indeed my mother who was the dead person."

"My mother that is never going to come home." his voice got louder as he halted all movement, and just stood there looking at Bonnie with an angry look in his eyes.

"It's going to be okay..." She whispered, her eyes filling up with tears, as much as she tried to stop it.

Damon huffed, his hands in fists. Even his veins were aching, and for the first time in a while he truly wanted to down the largest bottle of booze and maybe never wake up. This was the thought running through his head, along with so many other thoughts and emotions that he felt like he couldn't even breathe correctly. Part of him wanting to stop breathing. The other part of him knew this was him freaking out.

"It's not going to... It's... It's not okay!" he all but yelled at his startled little wife, who recoiled at the level of his voice, and wrapped her arms around herself.

"My mother is gone. I have...n-no mother, and my pain in the ass, disgusting, son of a bitch father is sitting in jail. They're both just gone, and..." he gasped as he tried to get more words out than breaths would allow.

Bonnie's breath quivered as she tried to hold herself together; but, seeing Damon falling apart was making it more difficult for her to stay composed. She swallowed hard, and with a shaky hand pulled her keys out of her pocket.

"D-Damon, let's...let's just get home, okay?" She spoke slowly.

Lifting her hand she pushed a button on her keys, which would start the car, turning on the heat that had been left on. She took a very deep breath, and stepped closer to Damon, reaching out her free hand to him. Damon's eyes were still full of frustration, and pain, though he wasn't crying. As much as he wanted to punch a hole straight through the pavement, instead, he grabbed Bonnie's hand, and allowed her to lead him through the parking lot slowly to the car.

Once clicking the button to unlock the doors, Bonnie let go of her husbands hand so he could get into the passenger seat. Damon brushed several crumpled recipes off the seat before climbing in and buckling. The second Bonnie was in, her belt was on, and the doors were closed, Damon's hand found it's way onto his wives leg, focusing on the softness and warmth of her thigh. He leaned his head back, and closed his eyes, hoping for some relief from the darkness of reality.

Bonnie had driven home as slowly as the law would allow her too. Considering that Lily had died in a car accident, she herself was being careful; and, she figured a long while in the car would be good for Damon. He had fallen to sleep like a baby at the ten minute mark. Driving around for thirty minutes more than she needed to, was the least she could do for her grieving husband. However; she was starting to get tired, so, she sped up to the speed limit, and they were back at the estate in minutes.

After waking Damon, they both headed inside. Damon's luggage had been brought to the house by the driver of the car he'd called to take him to the hospital. The house was in pristine condition; thanks to the new maid, and Wayne was there as well.

"Caroline?" Bonnie called as they shut the door behind them, and Wayne took Bonnie's coat from her. Damon's coat and tie liking still lying on the airport floor.

"We're in the living room." Caroline's voice replied, and Bonnie looked at Damon to see if he wanted to join his brother and Care.

Damon shook his head, "I...I'll be upstairs." he told her, not wanting to see anyone. Even just being there himself was weighing on him. His nap had been empty of any dreams, and this had been comforting; but, now he was awake, his head throbbing, mouth and heart aching for a drink. There was no bourbon or hard liquor in the house what so ever; and thankfully he wasn't quite to the point of chugging wine.

Bonnie nodded softly, wondering as she watched him walk up the stairs if she should be going with him. Soon Damon disappeared from her view, and she turned into the living room. The house itself seemed sad, from it's foundation to the roof, dripping from the walls.

She could hear the soft sound of crying before she even stepped into the room; and, once Bonnie was there she could see Caroline and Stefan on the couch. Their faces were both flushed, Caroline's more red than Stefan's. Tears still flowed from Care's eyes on and off like a dripping facet. Stefan's face was damp, and appeared down; but, inside his eyes didn't seem to quite match the emotions he was portraying.

"I..." Bonnie sighed, "I don't know what...I'm supposed to say or.."

She licked at her lips a few tears dripping from her eyes before she continued speaking, "Or what I'm supposed to do."

Caroline slowly moved from Stefan's side and over to Bonnie who was still standing. Wrapping her arms around her friend, the blonde, took a deep breath as she rubbed Bonnie's back gently.

"You don't have to do anything right now." Caroline told her, and squeezed her tighter.

Bonnie sniffled as she closed her eyes, and hugged Caroline back tightly, clinging to her tighter than she had in a very long time. She was suddenly very worried about losing anymore people. She didn't know what she would do if she lost Caroline, or Damon, her father...Stefan. Her eyes opened and shifted to Stefan on the couch. He was looking away from them at the coffee table idly.

"I don't understand why this had to happen." Bonnie said in a breath as she pulled away from her best friend.

"I know, it...doesn't make any sense." Caroline replied with a heavy sigh and wiped at her face with one of her sleeves.

Stefan's voice was heard across the way, "Death doesn't make any sense."

Bonnie furrowed her brow as she looked at her brother-in-law. As much as she worried for Damon, she was worried the same for Stefan. He was the baby of their little group, of the family. Often she forgot that Stefan was younger than her, younger than Caroline. Not by much; but, nevertheless he was the youngest brother, and seemed to have been closer to Lily than Damon in many ways.

The next hour or so was spent simply sitting in silence, with the occasional comment on when the funeral would be, the planning, which was a sore subject, but, none of them could think of much else to discuss. The new maid, Daniel, had showed up earlier that morning, the reason why the house was so clean. He had offered to make them food, and tea.

When he brought the sandwiches and tea in, Bonnie decided she should go upstairs to be with Damon. He needed to eat too; even if he didn't want to. She was also worried, and scolded herself for not going up to check on him sooner.

Making her way up the stairs with the food, and tea, Bonnie walked carefully to the bedroom door and with an immeasurable amount of skill got the door open. As the door swung up, she saw Damon sitting on the floor. Leaning against the end of the bed, his gaze was set across the room, staring at a wall.

She frowned, her brow furrowing, and used her foot to close the door behind her.

"I brought some food, you should eat." Bonnie told Damon but he didn't speak. His eyes shifted over to her, and his face broke her heart even further. Taking a breath she set the tray on top of the dresser and walked over to him. She noticed he was dressed differently. His suit replaced by red flannel pajama pants, and a gray t-shirt.

Bonnie sat down on the floor next to him, scooting closer, and she slowly wrapped her arms around him so that if he objected he would have time to tell her. He didn't object vocally nor push her away or tense at her touch. Damon leaned closer against her, and closed his eyes.

All he had been doing the last almost two hours was sitting, staring at a wall, and wondering where in the blue hell he'd gone wrong. Deep inside he knew it wasn't his fault Lily was dead; but, some part of him wanted to blame himself with every fiber of his being.

"Giuseppe did this." Damon whispered brokenly, "I know he did."

Bonnie was unsure, and it had been ruled an accident after all. She wanted to tell him this, that it was just an accident; but, knew that wasn't going to help anything, and wasn't going to make Damon feel any better. So, she stayed quiet, and as Damon rested in her arms, she tried to find some peace of her own in her thoughts.

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Planning a funeral is possibly the easiest part of death. Even easier when you are a multi-millionaire. The most helpful part of the situation however, was Caroline. She had spent the past three days talking with the funeral director, and if anything she had taken over for the poor man. It was her way of coping, distracting herself, and helping all at the exact same time. No one was complaining, as none of them wanted any part of it anyhow. Without bothering Bonnie, Damon, or Stefan, Caroline had managed to make the funeral perfect, and warm. Well, as perfect and warm as a _reverse celebration of life_ , could be.

Damon hadn't spoken or eaten much in the last few days. As much as Bonnie encouraged him to eat. At least he had listened to her telling him to shower, sleep, and drink water. Though, she had been forgetting some things herself. Her stomach was growling as they walked around the funeral space.

It was filled with a lot of people Bonnie didn't recognize, and though Damon didn't want to admit it, he barely knew anyone either. Many friends and business partners of Lily's and Giuseppe's alike. The few people there he did recognize, hadn't come up to say anything to him yet.

"Do you need anything?" Bonnie asked her husband as she stood beside him; dressed in a tea length black dress with half sleeves, and a lace trim along the sleeves and hemline.

Damon swallowed hard, and shook his head.

She could tell he wasn't doing well, each time they got closer to Lily's open coffin, he seemed more distressed and would start moving further away. Bonnie wasn't going to force him to see her body, so, she followed him very closely, occasionally holding into his arm at his elbow.

"Damon, I'm Celeste, I am so sorry for your loss." A blonde haired woman in her late thirties said to him, and he nodded, saying nothing else before she stepped away.

The room was covered in vases of flowers people had brought, baskets of muffins, and cookies along with them. Which was almost a taunt when paired with the feeling of being too nauseous to eat.

Caroline was bustling around making sure everyone signed the guest book, and checking the food that had been placed out. Every few moments she would check on Stefan who was seat on a chair, or standing near the table with the coffee and creamers on it. He had been very quiet, and this prompted her to work even harder to distract herself. She didn't want her sadness making him more sad.

"I can't.. I..." Damon said suddenly after the 30th person had apologized with Lily's death. His hands were shaking with the painful anxiousness crawling on his skin. He felt like a weight was on his shoulders and chest, preventing him from breathing, and every time he took a breath to reply to someone, it hurt him.

Before Bonnie could speak, Damon had turned and was walking away from her and the man who had been speaking to them. Bonnie lost him in the group of people.

Damon hurried outside into the brisk air, and loosened his tie around his neck. He took a deep breath that felt as though it took most of his energy. The sadness creeping up his spine. Everywhere he looked, he thought of his mother, and everywhere he looked, he saw sadness. His blue eyes flickering to the tree's, even they looked as though they were weeping.

Huffing, his breath billowing out around his head, he walked heavy footed to the field next to the parking lot. His hands worked to pull his jacket off wrinkling it, and struggling for a moment, finally tossing it to the pavement as he got to the field.

Damon heard the sound of Bonnie's heels clicking against the blacktop as she ran after him, panting.

"Damon!" she called, and stopped at the end of the pavement as she watched him stop about six feet into the grass.  
He turned around to look at her. Her eyes were wide, concerned, tired, and lightly red.

"I hate this." Damon said roughly, his breath shaky, "I fucking hate all of this. All these people here, everything."

Bonnie bit at her bottom lip as she tried to prevent herself from crying but instead it only made the tears well up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." she said softly.

"I can't.. I don't... I don't want ...want to do this." he huffed, raking his hands through his hair, and Damon's own tears rushed over his lash line and dripped along his face.

Bonnie stood there, watching her husband cry, slowly caving into himself as each second went by, and she felt so useless. How could she comfort him, when she herself was barely keeping it together?

"It should've been me." Damon said quietly, and then repeated himself much louder, "It should have been _me_!"

Shaking her head quickly, Bonnie practically ripped her shoes off her feet letting them clatter to the ground before walking across the grass and over to him.

"No...Damon..." she said slowly but he spoke interrupting her.

"I wish...I could trade places with her." Damon spoke softer, sniffling, his voice breaking slightly, "I feel like...I...Lily is the one who deserves to be alive."

Bonnie's tears dripping from her eyes, and she tried to find the right words to say as Damon dropped to sit on the cold ground. She moved to sit next to him, taking a deep breath.

"You both deserve to be alive. It was a terrible accident." Bonnie told Damon, placing a hand over one of his that was on his lap. She used her other hand to wipe at her face. The cold wind was causing goosebumps to form on both of their skin, and ruffling their hair.

There was a silence that lasted several long moments before it was filled.

"When Stefan and I were kids...our mother would play hide and seek with us." Damon spoke softly, looking at the ground with wet eyes, "She was terrible at it, well, we assumed she was at least. We'd wait an hour for her to fine us, she'd call our names, sigh, ask us to come out because she couldn't find us; but, we knew she'd find us eventually."

Bonnie nodded softly, squeezing Damon's hand.

"Now it's like she's hiding; and we're never going to find her." he whispered, and the silence took over again.

From the entrance of the funeral home, Stefan exited all by himself. His gaze flickered to Damon and Bonnie that in his eye line were small figured sitting in the grass, looking as distraught as ever. The expression on his face was fairly blank, and his hands were tucked in his pants pockets.

There was a vibration from his back pocket, and his right hand grabbed the phone from which it was coming from, and slid the green bar over after seeing the word 'Unknown' on the caller ID.

"Hello." Stefan answered his gaze still set on Bonnie and Damon who had not yet noticed him.

"Is it done?" A voice on the other end questioned.

"You know it is." he replied calmly, tilting his head to the side just a little.

There was a second silence on the other end, "Do not mess this up, Alistair."

Alistair's lips curled up at the edges ever so slightly before he spoke again in a low tone.

"I won't."

* * *

Please leave a review!


	33. The Weeping Fauna

**A/N:** That you guys so much for the support. I'm going through a difficult time right now, so that's why updates are not very quick. I hope you like this chapter though.

* * *

 **Chapter 32 -** The Weeping Fauna 

As Damon and Bonnie still sat in the cool grass, Alistair gazed upon them. His lips curling slightly at the edges, and a look in his eyes so devious that Stefan Salvatore could not have produced it even in mockery. In a coquettish fashion he straightened his tie, and started slowly across the parking lot; however, before he could get to the field, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Just as Damon noticed the look alike of his brother walking towards Bonnie and him, Alistair turned his head to see a man, noting that it was, if he was remembering his file correctly, Zachary Salvatore.

"Stefan." The light brown haired man spoke to Alistair, giving him an apologetic look.

"Uncle Zach." Alistair replied, his facial expression having morphed into one of cold sadness in the blink of an eye.

Zach stopped in front of him as Damon and Bonnie moved up off the ground. Damon's blue eyes shifted to Bonnie who was curious.

"That's Zach, Giuseppe's brother." Damon explained, and Bonnie's lips formed a soft o. She lifted a hand to wipe any dampness from Damon's face, and he thanked her with the pained eyes of his.

Damon took Bonnie's hand gently, grateful for the emotional moment they'd had in the grass. It was difficult for him to express how he felt; but, Bonnie made it so much easier. Even as much as he wanted to walk away from the whole funeral, the feeling of Bonnie's small soft hand in his, urged him not to move away from her.

"Uncle Zach. I wasn't sure I would see you here." Damon told the man, whom, was quite obviously much younger than Giuseppe. He couldn't have been more than 35.

"I never got along with your father; but, I care enough about this family, and you, my nephews, to come." Zach replied, and stepped closer to Damon, setting a hand on his shoulder for a moment. Damon looked at his shoulder and then back at his Uncle with a blank and unamused look.

Bonnie squeezed Damon's hands a bit, and knew he was alright by the squeeze she felt in return... Alistair sighed heavily, looking at the ground for a moment.

"Perhaps we'd know you cared if you bothered to show up for a visit." he spoke, invoking a furrowed brow from Zach. Damon looked at his brother and nodded a little.

"He's not wrong. The last time we saw you was two years ago. You didn't even come to my wedding." Damon agreed, and Bonnie chewed on the inside of her cheek unsure of what to say.

"For that, I apologize. Giuseppe is a massive part of why I have not visited; but, to put it honestly I know I'm not liked by either of you very much." Their uncle told them, his eyes flickering over to Bonnie, "...and, I would happily be delighted by an introduction to your beautiful wife...Bonnie...if this weren't a funeral."

Bonnie exhaled softly, and looked up at her husband, "You should speak with him. He's here after all."

Alistair eyed them all, waiting for someone else to speak, keeping the dim, but, sad look on his face.

"Alright... Did you come here for anything, or just to pay respects?" Damon questioned his uncle, shoving his freehand into the pocket of his suit pants.

"I came here first and foremost to pay respects; but, yes, I do have a secondary reason." Zach spoke truthfully in a low tone, "I know you are grieving, everyone is. I came to suggest that I take over the business for a while. You should focus on yourself, your wife, your brother. Both of you should focus on the family you have."

Damon blinked, and for a moment he was sure his vision was completely gone, and then faded back as quickly with a slight blinding outline that made his temples hurt.

"Really? You'd really bring this up at our mother's funeral?" Alistair said, his tone implying disbelief, and frustration that matched the look on Damon's face.

"I truly believe it would be the best for Salvatore Ballet. I am not as hurt deeply by Lily's death, I know that sounds careless; but, it is the unfortunate and fortunate truth. I would like nothing more than to run the business for even just a month while Damon, you, and you Bonnie, can cope and live without the stress. I want no permanent claim, I will not stop your personal funds from the company, I will simply be your fill in Damon. I will come to you for any major decisions, but you will not need to worry." Zach explained, with a hopeful look in his eyes that even Bonnie could see was legitimate, and sincere.

Damon sighed, his head spinning a bit; but, he couldn't deny that what his uncle was saying was wrong. The last thing he wanted to do was focus on the company, he could hardly focusing on breathing. Even if he didn't particularly like Zach, he knew he wasn't the same as his father.

"Fine, go ahead." Damon replied with a sigh.

"Do you really think that's a g..." Alistair started but when cut off.

"Thank you, Damon. You can call me for whatever you need. I'm here for you." Zach told him.

Damon nodded a bit and raked his fingers through his hair, "I am not really in the mood to visit with anyone. I'll sign the papers allowing you to fill in for me; but, I'm going to need some time before having a family reunion of any kind."

Zach nodded back at his nephew, and turned around, leaving the scene, knowing that he was going to be of no more help. Alistair watched Zach with suspicious eyes, then quickly his expression moved to saddened before Damon and Bonnie's eyes were on him.

"Are you doing okay Stefan?" Bonnie asked him, putting a light hand on his shoulder.

"No, not really." Alistair replied, taking a deep breath just as Caroline exited the building.

Her blonde hair ruffled in the breeze and her expression looked worried as she walked over to the small group.

"Stefan...there you are. I was worried." Caroline said with a sigh as she stopped in front of them, clad in a short black sleeve dress, a deep yellow cardigan tossed over it.

"I needed some air...I'm sorry I should've told you where I was going." Alistair said slowly, and stepped closer to Caroline.

They seemed to take a natural turn, and start walking back to the funeral together, Caroline giving Damon and Bonnie a small wave before linking her arm with Stefan's.

"You'll let me know if you need any help, won't you?"Caroline questioned him, and Alistair nodded, still trying to understand completely the relationship he was inserting himself in.

"Yes." Alistair replied, "Right now I'm not sure what I need though."

Caroline nodded, and let go of his arm as they got to the door, "No, no, I completely understand. It's going to take a bit before you feel like yourself again; but... I..I'm here for you. I will listen to you any time you need, even if it's at three in the morning, you can call me. I will make sure you eat, drink water, sleep, I can set up an appointment with a therapist for you... I know a pretty good one, that's another story..." she continued to ramble on, "We can even skip town, and go anywhere you want. I mean we'd probably need to take Damon and Bonnie.. You know that's not really a bad idea... I..."

"I'm sorry, I'm being crazy..." Caroline stopped talking, noticing Stefan was staring at her.

"No, no, never crazy." Alistair told her in a softer honeyed tone, "It's just that...even in this fucked up place, you glow as the sun does."

Caroline's eyes actually started to fill with tears, "Oh...honey." she sighed, "I'm so sorry." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and Alistair wrapped his own arms around the woman, and hugged her back.

A few moments later, after having been watching Caroline and Alistair hugging, Bonnie and Damon watched them go inside, and then turned back to each other. Still holding hands, they both had a similar pained and confused look in their eyes. Should they go back inside, or, should they stay outside?

"Is your mother going to be here?" Damon asked Bonnie after a few silent seconds.

"No, I...I asked her not to come. I felt it was for the best." Bonnie replied, furrowing her brow a bit.

He squeezed her hand and gave her a concerned look, "Are you changing your mind about getting close with her?"

"Oh, no, of course not. I just wanted to be able to focus on other things today; and, the funeral is the last place I want her." she explained to Damon, who nodded slowly in understanding. His eyes weren't quite as cold, but as the seconds went by she could tell he was having a difficult time holding it together again.

The sound of a car rolling into the parking lot was heard from their right side, and as the dark blue car parked, their attention was brought to it. Most people who they had expected were already there; but, it was possible several people whom they assumed weren't coming might have just been late.

As Damon's gaze was about to shift back to Bonnie, he suddenly went a little cold when he saw Enzo getting out of the drivers side of the car. He remembered telling him he could come to the funeral; but, he hadn't quite been prepared for it.

"Enzo..." Damon said in an exhale, and let go of Bonnie's hand.

"You don't have to talk to him." Bonnie reminded her husband; but he was already heading across the lot in bigger strides than Bonnie could keep up with.

Enzo's eyes shifted to Damon, and he started over to him as well. He honestly looked fairly broken himself, and his tie was a smudge from unraveling itself.

"Damon... I'm so sorry." Enzo spoke in a low tone, his eyes a little glimmering already, his hands shoved into his pants pockets.

"I honestly hoped I wouldn't see you here." Damon said coldly, his eyes slowly returning to a numb gaze.

With a more steady and close up look at Enzo, Bonnie could see that his hair was shaggier than it was normally kept, and he looked a bit paler. He certainly didn't look happy, or like he'd been taking care of himself very well. She wondered if Damon and Enzo being friends was simply something that kept both of their lives together.

"I didn't really want to come." Enzo replied, practically staring back at Damon, and Bonnie was feeling even more melancholy just looking at the two men.

There was a small negative voice in the back of her head that told her they'd still be friends if it weren't for her. Bonnie knew this was wrong; but, in the sadness of the situation it was difficult to hold back her anxieties and self-blaming.

Damon looked to the side for a moment before speaking again, "What did you do?"

"What are you talking about?" Enzo asked, confused, and Bonnie had a bad feeling in her stomach.

"What did you do to Lily?" he asked the question more straight forwardly again, his dark eyes set on Enzo.

Bonnie blinked at the same time as Enzo, both obviously very surprised by Damon sudden accusation. "Woah...honey." she started touching Damon's arm.

"You really..." Enzo started, shaking his head a little, his eyes getting more read, his breath heavier, "...you really think I'd kill your mother? I cared about her too, Damon. I can't believe you think I'd hurt her."

Damon swallowed hard, and shook his head after taking a breath.

"I'd sooner die myself." Enzo repeated, looking deeply hurt.

"I need.. I.. I can't." Damon said shakily, and moved past both Bonnie and Enzo, walking to the side of the parking lot, towards the grass again. The cold breeze was picking up, ruffling Bonnie's hair and dress.

Enzo's eyes flickered to Bonnie's face, and they just looked at each other for several moment that felt like forever but in reality were probably a mere two seconds.

"I'm sorry." Enzo told her in a soft tone.

Bonnie nodded a little, her throat tight, "I know."

"He deserves you. More than anyone else ever could." he spoke his eyes never leaving hers, "..and...he needs you."

"He needs you too." she said in a whisper, and Enzo's eyes flickered to Damon, and then he turned around, walking into the funeral.

Bonnie sighed, and turned around to find Damon as another car pulled into the parking lot. Her chest was aching, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could go before she started to cry again. She was glad that Caroline had taken care of most of the funeral, she would never have been able to do it.

As she was starting towards the field again, from the corner of her eye she saw whom was getting out of the newly parked car. Lucy. Bonnie's eyes met hers after a second, and her cousin must have been able to read into the look in her eyes, because she hurried over to her.

"Bonnie." Lucy huffed softly, and the second she was in front of her, Bonnie leaned in to hug her.

Lucy wrapped her arms around Bonnie just as tightly, and squeezed her. Bonnie pressed her face against her cousins shoulder and took several shaky breathes.

"I didn't know you were coming." Bonnie whispered, her eyes filling with tears, and she closed them.

"Oh, why wouldn't I?" Lucy asked with a soft chuckle, and squeezed Bonnie a bit tighter.

When their hug finally broke, Bonnie was still struggling to keep the tears from rolling over her lash line, but, her chest didn't feel quite as heavy. Brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she took a deep breath, and blinked several times to clear her vision.

"I wish I had something to say but..." she sighed, and Lucy smiled softly at her.

"You don't need to say anything...but, I am going to stay in town for a day or so after this, and I'm happy to help with anything you need." Lucy explained, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Bonnie nodded before speaking, "Thank you so much..."

After allowing Lucy to walk away from her and into the building, Bonnie turned back around towards where Damon had gone. He was standing in the middle of the grass, staring up at the cloudy sky with his hands at his sides. There wasn't a thing in the entire world that was going to convince Damon to go back inside Lily's funeral. Bonnie was beginning to realize this as she walked slowly over, gazing at him. Truth be told, she didn't want to go back inside either. It was a bunch of people she didn't know, apologizing mostly to her husband, and giving her pitiful looks of false hope for their future as a couple coping with their loss.

"I don't have it in me to stay for her burial." Damon said quietly.

He was typing on his cell phone as Bonnie stopped to stand beside him. Bonnie nodded, and crossed her arms over her chest, growing colder the longer she stood outside.

"Stefan say's he'll stay." he told her, and after he put his phone into his pocket, Bonnie took his hand.

Intertwining their fingers, she leaned over, and brushed her face gently along Damon's forearm. She was again at a loss for words; but, in the most personal sense, Bonnie knew what Damon needed. She always would.

'Let's go home.' was said in the green of Bonnie's eyes that Damon gazed into.

'Yes, please.' was spoken through Damon's tired, and desperate expression.

Bonnie lead Damon to his camaro, squeezing his hand lightly before letting go to get the keys out of one of the hidden pockets of her dress. They hadn't gone many placed in the three days since Lily's death, but, it seemed they both agreed that Bonnie driving was best for the time being. After Bonnie unlocked the doors, they both got in, and took deep breathes nearly at the same time.

"Are you sure you want to go back to...the house?" Bonnie asked her husband as she started the engine and pulled her seatbelt on.

"Where else would we go?" Damon replied with a question.

She pursed her lips, "We can go anywhere you want. A hotel, my...dads house, one of your many penthouses in the country."

Damon's gaze shifted to the front of the car as he thought. In a sense he didn't want to go back home. Home was not just his home. It was where Stefan lived, where Lily had been, and the place that Damon and Bonnie had been discussing leaving. In another sense...it was the focal point in his life as far as houses went.

"Okay. Let's go to your old house...Rudy's." he agreed, and sunk slowly in his seat as he looked out of the window.

Bonnie had not seen Damon in such a form. His shoulder low, yet pushed upwards near his ears at the same time. It made her feel even more miserable to see him so upset. Coping was going to be a difficult process. It had only been three days, she needed to remind herself of this.

"Wait..." she mumbled as she realized something, "I..I know the house is still technically mine, but, after what happened with my dad and I, I'm not sure if..."

Damon's eyes almost shifted over to her, but, not quite, until they closed as he raked a hand through his hair. He had almost forgotten about the situation with Rudy. In all honesty, Bonnie's father was easy to forget. He was never around, and, now, part of that was because of Bonnie.

"Let's just do what you think is good..." he whispered as a slight ache in his head was growing stronger.

Bonnie nodded, and placed both hands on the steering wheel as she attempted to 'think' about what was 'good'. Which was harder than she hoped it would be. She was feeling struck with the same thoughtlessness and numbness that appeared to have been capturing Damon the last few days. Taking another deep breath, Bonnie pulled out of the parking lot, and got onto the road without saying a word as to where she was taking them. It didn't matter. She was going to drive until she felt compelled to either turn towards a hotel, or towards her old home. If that meant they ended up in Nova Scotia, then so be it.

The only good thing about Damon's struggle, was that sleeping didn't appear to be part of it. He wouldn't eat much, say much, or move much, but, he at least was sleeping. By the time they were fifteen minutes down the road, Damon had fallen asleep... The same couldn't be said for Bonnie. She was eating, talking, and walking about as much as she could; but, sleep was avoiding her. She'd gotten four hours before the funeral. Thankfully, anxiety and denial were making her feel wide awake. Six cups of coffee awake – without the added pleasure of having actually drank the coffee.

Twenty five minutes down the road, and they were halfway between their home, Rudy's home, and half a dozen hotels. Forty minutes down the road, they were on a highway, and heading towards none of the possible destination choices. Finally, Bonnie made a decision.

Somewhere miles out of the city, she pulled off at a rest stop as the sun was moving close to setting. Parking near the end of the furthest row, where no cars were, Bonnie turned off the car, unbuckled her belt and got out. The air was even colder, and the breeze had picked up to a steady gusting that blew her hair around.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned back against the car, and just stood there. For about ten minutes, she just stood there, breathing, and watching as cars pulled in and out of the rest stop, watching as people bought snacks for the road, filled their water bottles, grabbed maps of Virginia, and let their kids run around in the picnic area.

"Bon?" Damon's voice came from behind her, and she turned around slowly to look at him.

"I couldn't decide..and.." Bonnie said, shaking her head.

She got back into the car, shut the door, and fiddled with the keys in her right hand as she looked over at him. Words seemed impossible to find; yet, looking into each others eyes was comforting in ways neither of them knew how to project purposefully at the time.

Damon furrowed his brow, and gently grabbed the keys from Bonnie's hand, slipping them into the glove box. He then reached in front of her to lock all the doors, and then patted his lap twice. This gesture did not need to be repeated. Bonnie slowly climbed over onto his lap, her legs and feet crossing over to the drivers seat. Damon's arms wrapped around her softly, and she laid her head on his shoulder. It was now she noticed he'd taken his suit jacket off, and unbuttoned his shirt half of the way, revealing the white t-shirt underneath it.

"I love you." Bonnie whispered, closing her eyes, and felt Damon's body relax a bit underneath her. His body warm, strong, comfortable, as it had always been.

"I love you too." Damon replied, and moved a arm from around her just long enough to tilt the beat backwards.

* * *

It wasn't until three hours later that Bonnie and Damon finally got somewhere else. In the end they decided upon home. Even though they didn't plan for it to be their home forever, they couldn't deny it was their home...

The sun had disappeared, leaving the sky full of wispy gray clouds and the slight peak of stars in between their masses. Not much had been spoken between Bonnie and Damon, mostly sitting together in silence, falling asleep on and on, listening to the radio, and gazing at each other.

"You really should eat." Bonnie reminded Damon for the second time that day as they got into the house, several lights still on.

"I know." Damon replied, but, even he knew he had no intention of eating anything. It was like his stomach had turned itself off. He could not find the will to put something into his mouth, swallow it, and allow it to nourish him. Thinking about eating made him feel tired, frustrated. Though, honestly, most things were making him feel in such a way.

Bonnie sighed, already feeling more stressed out just from the way Damon was brushing her reminders off. She loathed coming home, and having to wonder how long until Damon would smile at her with love and happiness again, how long until he would eat more than once a day. This however, was not the worst she was wondering about.

What if Damon drank again, how long until then? What if he didn't get any better? What if he got worse?

"Three days..." Bonnie repeated to herself, "It's been three days, there's so many more, it's okay."

Taking several deep breathes, she took her shoes off, and made her way upstairs with Damon. As they both got undressed, the room was dimly lit by the patio door, and the only sound in the house was the television downstairs. Neither of them had checked, but, it was likely Stefan was home.

Damon pulled on a pair of sweatpants and sat down on the edge of the bed. Bonnie put on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, tying her hair up behind her head. She was hungry, and though Damon was likely going to avoid the idea of eating, Bonnie wasn't going to stop reminding him. The day she stopped reminding him would be the day she no longer cared about him – that was never going to come.

"Do you need anything?" Bonnie asked him, and he shook his head, sighing.

She nodded, and turned, making her way out of the room, and down the stairs. To Damon, this might have seemed like a 'giving up' of trying to get him to eat, or talk to him. However, Bonnie had made her way into the kitchen, with the intention of making them both food.

"Mrs. Salvatore." a voice came from near the fridge, which nearly startled Bonnie several inches in the air.

When her eyes finally adjusted again, she realized it was the new maid. Daniel. Lily had hired him...

"P-Please, don't call me Mrs. Salvatore." Bonnie asked him. Before, being called Mrs. Salvatore just seemed too formal, now, it made her think of Lily. Sure, it was true, she was Mrs. Salvatore; but, she was going to need time to adjust to that, especially with the only other Mrs. Salvatore, gone.

"I apologize, Ma'am. I'm Daniel, the new maid. I started today. I'm very sorry for your loss." Daniel told her, giving her an apologetic look, "Is there anything I can get you?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No.. Honestly, I know you just got here, but, I'm going to dismiss you for tonight and tomorrow. I don't want to explain myself, I hope you understand."

The blonde haired man nodded, "Of course. I must remind you, that since you are dismissing me, I must be paid for the days even while I am off. Per our contract."

"Yes, I won't dock your pay, don't worry." she agreed, and with a slight wave, Daniel was out of the kitchen.

With a heavy sigh, Bonnie began to boil water for pasta, and chop fresh herbs. She heard footsteps to the side of her, and when she looked, Wayne was there.

"I heard you dismissed Daniel for a few days. I can make myself scarce if you would prefer as well, Mrs. Bonnie." Wayne told her, with a sad look in his eyes that he was very clearly trying to film over with professionalism.

"No, you are like family too Wayne... It's okay." Bonnie told him, and her eyes shifted over to whom she assumed was Stefan as he moved up behind Wayne.

"Cooking something are we?" Alistair asked as he stepped in front of Wayne and walked over near Bonnie, leaning against the counter.

Bonnie's green eyes shifted over to him, and she nodded a bit even though the answer was obvious. Wayne had excused himself, leaving Alistair and Bonnie in the kitchen by themselves... Bonnie turned around to check on the water.

"I haven't messaged Caroline yet...did she get home safe?" Bonnie asked him, leaning up against the counter as well.

"Yes. Several hours ago." Alistair replied, a tired, and cold expression on his face.

The two of them hadn't spoken much over the last few days. Which, wasn't a surprise, but, Bonnie wanted to change that. With Lily gone, she realized how much closer they needed to be. It was the only way any of them was going to get through the tragedy.

"We would have gotten home before you guys...we decided we needed some air." she explained even though he hadn't prodded her for an explanation.

"I figured." Alistair said, and sighed for added effect before his next statement, "Schoolwork is already kicking my ass, I don't know how I'm going to face it after break is over."

Bonnie furrowed her brow before speaking, "I understand. I'd say it will be okay but..."

They gave each other a amusingly tired and frustrated look before 'Stefan' reached over and touched Bonnie's arm. After another moment, Alistair left the kitchen, leaving Bonnie to finish cooking... Fifteen minutes later,two bowls were filled with pasta and traveling up the stairs.

When Bonnie walked into the bedroom, Damon was lying in bed. She flipped the light switch with her elbow, and set the second bowl of food on the nightstand nearest to him. His eyes opened, and shifted from her, to the bowl, then back to her.

"Eat it, or don't eat." she said calmly, and then started back out of the room. Her lips turned up at the edges when she heard the silverware clink against Damon's bowl when he picked it up.

By the time she got down the stairs, her own stomach was practically screaming at her. It didn't take her long to get her ass on the couch, and eat all but the bowl and spoon. Alistair was no longer in the living room; but, he'd left the TV on. Bonnie stared at the episode of Law & Order absently as she sat with her empty bowl in her lap.

With a heavy sigh, she headed back to the kitchen to put her dishes in the sink. She could heard the sound of a shower on upstairs from her and Damon's bathroom. It made her happy he was taking care of himself. Hopefully he had eaten more than one bite of the food she made. Then again, one bite would at least be progress.

"I'll call Lucy..." Bonnie whispered to herself, and headed back for the living room.

Grabbing her phone off the coffee table, she scrolled through her contacts until her cousins name was front and center. Phone to her ear, it took five rings before Lucy answered.

"Hey, sweetheart, is everything alright?" Lucy asked her right away.

Bonnie chuckled weakly, "Well...not really, but, yes. I just...wanted to talk. Is now a good time?"

"Of course. I'm going over some case files, but it's nothing I can't do while talking to you." her cousin replies in a soft loving voice, the slight sound of papers shuffling in the background was heard.

Bonnie brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before speaking, "...I feel so frustrated, and like it's hard to breathe sometimes." she licked at her lips as she looked for more words, "...I hate the weight on my shoulders, I haven't felt this way since Abby showed up, and I ran off to the studio."

"I'm sorry Bonnie. It's going to take some time before you feel normal again." Lucy reminded her.

"I know, I keep telling myself that, but, what if I'm not sure what normal is? I got married to a stranger, my husbands father tried to get me killed, I was in a coma, my missing mother reappeared, and now my mother-in-law is dead." Bonnie spoke, her breath growing quicker, and she closed her eyes, pressing her hand to her forehead as her eyes teared up.

Lucy sighed softly, and more paper shuffling was heard. "You love Damon, you love Caroline, your family. That is normal. I promise, eventually, it will just feel better. You'll be happy."

"I guess so." she replied, opening her eyes to look at the floor.

"I know so. Just like when Grams died. You need to keep practicing ballet, live your dream, focus on your life, not the death." her cousin advised her, and this stuck with her even after the call had ended.

* * *

 **Two Weeks Later**

Two weeks had passed since Lily's funeral. It wasn't that long in retrospect, but, it had been enough time to heal a fraction of the wounds everyone was suffering. It was a sunday evening, and everyone but Caroline was at the Salvatore house. Bonnie hadn't spoken to Caroline in several days, but when she finally checked up on her via text, she decided going to visit her would be the best idea.

"Stefan?" she called out as she walked down the stairs and into the foyer.

"I'm here." Alistair replied as he rounded the corner out of the kitchen. He was clad in a pair of jeans, and loose white t-shirt. His hair was neatly combed, with just a few pieces sticking up in disorder.

Bonnie pulled on a jacket as she spoke, "I'm going to check on Caroline... She hasn't been going to Whitmore lately. Will you stay here with Damon?"

Alistair nodded and gave her a weak smile, "Of course Bonnie."

As Alistair walked out of the room, Wayne walked in, and Bonnie stepped over to him, waiting for it to be just them in the foyer.

"I'm going out for a bit, will you keep an eye on the brothers?" she asked the butler who nodded politely at her. Wayne had been a huge help over the last few weeks, as had Daniel. When no one was up for cooking, or grocery shopping, they always had someone to do it.

"Yes, Mrs. Bonnie. I will keep a very close eye." Wayne assured her, "You drive safely."

Bonnie smiled softly at him before turning to walk out of the front door... She herself had been struggling. Between making sure Damon didn't relapse, and that she wasn't having a panic attack, life was straining. Lucy had been right through, it got easier every single day...

Meanwhile, Alistair had made his way into the backyard, finding Damon sitting along one of the garden benches. It was cold outside still, so, the garden hadn't gotten much attention since the fall.

"Are you trying to get sick?" Alistair questioned Damon, who turned to look at him.

"Not at all..." Damon told him, and scooted over towards the side of the bench so his brother could sit next to him.

Alistair did just so, and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. He'd been watching everyone carefully, gauging how they were coping, their progressing weaknesses and strengths. The eyes that Damon saw as caring, pained, and hopeful were really, devious, and snaring.

They simply sat there in silence for several more moments before Damon spoke again. "I'm having a hard time believing this is going to get easier..." he admitted, his hands a little shaky. He'd been craving a lot, and while he hadn't given in, he had wanted to more than a dozen times.

"...at the same time, I think it's already gotten a bit better." Damon added with a deep breath, "Once and a while, I'll catch myself feeling happy for a moment or two. Then, I go back to not knowing what to do with my life from here on out. How to make mother proud."

Alistair chuckled weakly, "Look...I don't really know either. I'm a mess. I don't even know if I'll pass this semester, if I even want to; but, I.. I think I know what you should do."

"What's that?" Damon questioned his brother, his blue eyes flickering over to look into his brother's.

"I can...see you helping people. It's something you love, that you're good at. You saved Bonnie from dying, by making the doctors act quicker." Alistair told him, "You're smart, talented, caring, our mother...she would want you to do what makes you happy."

Damon smiled at him, feeling some of the pressure in his chest lift. He nodded softly, and looked away from Alistair, gazing at the ground.

"Do you think I'll be a good doctor?" he questioned him seriously.

"I do." Alistair replied, his eyes fixed on the side of Damon's face.

When Damon looked back at his brother, into his eyes again, he could see something there. The same thing he'd been struggling to understand the past few weeks. He couldn't help but feel something was up with Stefan. He didn't seem to express his pain very well, seeming more interested in talking to other people about their struggles, than talking about his own.

"I'm here for you Stefan. No matter what." Damon told him.

"I know." Alistair replied, and then felt a soft vibrate of his phone in his pocket. He didn't need to look at it to know who it was. There was only one contact he had set on vibrate.

He stood up from the bench, and put a hand on Damon's shoulder. "Look, we should...Bonnie, and Caroline, you and I, we should get out. Do something fun, distracting. I'm going to go somewhere quiet to finish up on course work, and then what do you say, we all go see a movie tonight?"

"I think that would be good... I'll text Bonnie. Let me know when you'll be home." Damon told him, and Alistair nodded with a soft smile before turning to walk out of the garden, his expression changing to a cold one in a matter of seconds.

* * *

The only sound Stefan could heard was a ringing in his ears, and the whooshing of a ceiling fan. He'd only just started to wake from a woozy, and blurry slumber that he could hardly remember falling into. The more he woke, the more he couldn't remember.

His olive colored eyes shifted along the room in a dizzy fashion. The floor wood paneled, red ornate carpet that was covered in a thin layer of dust except for several trails of boot prints that weren't quite as dusty. The only light was that from outside. Shining dimly through the dark gray curtains on the windows.

If he looked far enough to the left, he saw a black couch, and a coffee table. To the right, a sink, oven, fridge, and counter top. His head was aching, he wasn't sure how long he'd been there.

"Fuck..." Stefan huffed, and tried to brush his face. He found that he couldn't move his hands. They were tied to the side of him to the wall. Rings bolted to the walls, thick rough ropes tied around his wrists, the same ropes restrained his feet, and his waist.

Suddenly, the front door unlocking was followed by light pouring into the room as it opened. The fimilar sound of boots thudded on the floor. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two three. One, two...

"Well, you are looking a bit pale there aren't you sweetheart?" a voice that matched his own almost perfectly spoke from in front of him. It was a voice that sparked a dozen memories in his head.

"Al...Alistair." Stefan said in a cough, and his eyes trailed up the mans body to his face.

Alistair gave him a dead eyed smirk before speaking, "Mmm, how nice of you to remember."

The man stepped closer, and knelt down, grabbing Stefan's face and looking into his slightly glazed over eyes. His skin was indeed very pale, and he looked like he'd lost twenty pounds in the last two weeks. His hair was longer, including his facial hair.

"At least your wounds have healed." he whispered to Stefan, checking the scars along his bare shoulders, and his left arm. Stefan was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dirty jeans with blood stains still on them.

Stefan groaned, and tried to pull at his bindings again. Alistair clicked his tongue, and reached into his back pocket to reveal a full syringe with a yellow cap on the needle.

Alistair spun the syringe in between his fingers a few times as he let go of Stefan's face with his other hand, "Now, now. Don't get feisty."

* * *

 **Please leave a review, thank you!**


	34. Murmuring Tales

**Chapter 33 – Murmuring Tales**

Mark Twain once wrote, _"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."_

But, damn it all, Stefan was not prepared to die. If his unsteadiness meant he was afraid of life, or had not lived fully, he could accept that. He would accept any degree of a pitiful unfulfilling life; but he could not accept death.

As the weak, and starving Stefan leaned against the hard wall at his back, his eyes were glued to Alistair's face – even as tired as his eyes were. In another second, when Alistair shoved the needle into his arm, and pushed the plunger down, sending a cold liquid into his veins, Stefan's eyes would discover a new type of tired. Stefan barely flinched at the sting of the needle, and had grown so used to the numb cloudy feeling in his veins and body that he almost...liked it.

"That's a good boy." Alistair whispered at the man who bared his resemblance, and flipped the empty syringe around in his fingers again before taking a step back.

Eyeing Stefan, Alistair knew that he needed nutrition soon, else he'd be completely useless in another couple of days. He already looked beyond dehydrated. Alistair had been waiting till the last minute, seeing how long he could draw out Stefan before he would truly weaken.

As Stefan's sleepy eyes strained to focus on Alistair, his ears were working over time as well to wear the ramblings that poured from his mouth.

"Soon, I'll have made things right, the way they should have always been..." Alistair spoke very vaguely, in a low tone. Knowing Stefan could hear him in some degree or another.

Stefan licked a this lips and furrowed his brow as the sedative started to really kick in. He wanted to open his mouth to ask a question, but his tongue felt like it weighed a million pounds. So, he simply listened.

As Alistair babbled on almost incoherently, he stepped over to the small fridge nearby, and pulled out an IV drip bag, that had almost a dozen labels on it to indicate what it contained.

"This should perk you up a bit." Alistair's voice grew louder as he closed in on Stefan again. He knelt down to face level, eyeing Stefan who was struggling to keep himself awake so he could take in information.

"Can't have you dying on me." Alistair smirked, grabbing Stefan's hand, and feeling around for a vein which was very easy considering they were practically popping out from underneath his pale skin. He pulled a butterfly needle, a tube, and the connectors for the IV from a plastic package that had been taped to the drip bag, and within another minute, Stefan had the IV hooked up, and could vaguely feel the coolness running through him. Alistair hung the bag up on a hook several feet above Stefan's head.

Stefan's eyelids grew far too heavy for him to keep them open. Yet, even in his sedated state, he could still hear Alistair prattling off – though his voice grew muffled. Stefan's mind began wandering, and small glimmers of memories played along the back of his eyelids.

The feeling of being smashed against hard glass, his blood pooling out along the ground beneath him... Everything was so loud He remembered a roaring sound in his ears that was so deafening it took away from the pain in his flesh.  
"Another few months and I'll have taken over your life completely," Alistairs voice broke through Stefan's haze, "Unfortunately, I will then no longer have any need for you. Poor sap."

This was the last thing Stefan heard before he passed out entirely. With his captive sleeping, Alistair calmly made his way to sit on a black leather sofa, and pulled out a laptop from it's gray case with a grin on his face.

* * *

Bonnie said beside Caroline on the patio adjoining Care's apartment. The wind was brisk, but the two of them sat holding mugs of hot chocolate that steamed into the air around their hands. The sky was growing grayer, and grayer at every passing second, and it only proved to make the situation feel more glum than it already was.

"I'm just worried about you." Bonnie said to Caroline, furrowing her brow.

She knew it wasn't like her best friend to close herself off. Caroline was the extrovert of all extroverts.

"Okay, so... I'll admit, I haven't exactly been going to Whitmore much." Caroline spoke, followed by a heavy sigh.

"Honestly, _I'm_ worried," she added, "I'm worried I might get pushed to a lower class or expelled."

Bonnie exhaled slowly, "It's unlikely you'll get expelled but...yeah, honey, you aren't going to do so well if you remain absent any longer." she told Caroline honestly.

Caroline rubbed at her forehead with a tired look on her face. It was obvious that she was struggling, and perhaps she would have been doing better if she didn't avoid everyone in her life. To be fair, she hadn't avoided them completely. If texting, and phone calls weren't considered valid forms of communication, then were was the twenty first century headed?

Bonnie pursed her lips as she looked over at her best friend. She didn't want to push Caroline, she knew what it felt like to be pushed into moving on too quickly. Whatever was going on with Caroline, and whatever she decided was the best path for her, Bonnie would be right there beside her.

"Hey..." Bonnie spoke suddenly, breaking the silence, "How about we go for a walk?"

Caroline's eyes flickered from Bonnie to the sky and the ground before she nodded a bit.

"Sure, let me get something decent on first though..." Caroline agreed, and set her own mug down to stand up.

Despite the chilly weather, a good walk in the fresh air seemed like a nice idea to them both. Caroline needed to stretch her legs, and Bonnie was feeling too restless to stay seated for long. She'd been doing a lot of sitting around since the funeral. She tried to get out and take a run or walk every day, but, sometimes even Bonnie couldn't bring herself to leave Damon alone. Now that he seemed to be doing better, Bonnie was feeling better herself.

Once Caroline had gotten dressed, and her blonde hair was brushed into a pony tail on her head, the two women made their way outside in their coats for a walk. There was no snow on the ground, but, it wouldn't be a surprise if it started to snow later that evening...

"So...is this just about Lily, or something else?" Bonnie questioned after several slow moments on the sidewalk. She knew Lily and Caroline were never close, so, honestly, Caroline's struggle was the most surprising of every ones.

Caroline sighed before speaking, "I'm worried about Stefan. He's been kind of distant. I mean, I expected it...obviously."

"Yeah... It's normal, but, if you're really worried you should mention it to Stefan." she told Care, giving a knowing look. While Caroline was good at being sexy, flirty, and over all a practical sex goddess, she was not so good at expressing when she was worried about a guy. It was the reason her and Matt had taken so long to end things. They'd let it drone on and on...

Caroline nodded slowly, "You're right... You know, I'm feeling better already. Seeing you, and talking this walk. I think I just needed to clear my dead, " she told her before asking, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing better... I think Damon is doing better, but, it will be a while before we are all...living normally again. As normally as we can." Bonnie admitted as they turned a corner, and she felt her phone buzz in her pocket but left it be for the moment. They both deserved a few more minutes of conversation just between the two of them. Bonnie realized she still had things to tell her best friend.

"So, there's something I've been refraining from telling you, since everything has been such a messy lately." Bonnie admitted, and Caroline looked at her curiously. "I want to open my own dance studio."

Caroline's eyes instantly lit up several notches, and she looked more excited than she had in the last month.  
"That's great! I'm so glad you found something to do. I was worried you'd given up on ballet completely." she said to Bonnie, who chuckled lightly.

"No, trust me, I still love ballet." Bonnie replied and wondered if she should tell Caroline about Damon's med school stuff...

However, after a moment of thought, she decided against it. Bonnie wasn't even since if Damon was going to finish med school any more. He hadn't mentioned it a single time since Lily's death... When Bonnie's phone vibrated for the second time, she pulled it out of her pocket and unlocked it, looking at the screen.

"Oh, apparently, you, Stefan, Damon and I, are going to the movies today. You up for that?" Bonnie questioned the blonde beside her, who took a breath, and nodded with a soft smile.

* * *

When Bonnie, Caroline, Damon and Alistair all met up at the movies a few hours later, the ground was covered in a light dusting of fresh snow and the chill in the air was enough to warrant their heavier winter jackets. However, despite the cold, both women had opted for heels over winter boots and were deeply regretting it even as they stood inside at the ticket counter. None of them had been to seen a movie in so long, but the smell of buttered popcorn and sight steam cleaned multi colored carpets was familiar.

"I think that's a good one." Bonnie said, agreeing to the fifth movie choice that had been listed in their conversation to decide what to watch. It was a romantic comedy, and that seemed harmless enough. Not too much steamy romance to make anyone uncomfortable, and enough comedy to fill the spaces between the angst.

"It starts in ten minutes so we can take our time with concession." Damon spoke, feeling confident about the movie choice as well. It didn't seem like it would be too chick-flick, but, honestly, he didn't mind even if it was. He was never a horror or gory flick type of guy, even the war based movies he enjoyed were more historical than anything.

Alistair nodded in agreement as well, but Bonnie noticed that Caroline was avoiding looking at 'Stefan' and stepped over closer to her.

"We can pick a different movie if you think it will be...you know.. awkward." Bonnie whispered to her best friend, who took almost a full minute to realize why Bonnie thought it might be awkward. Caroline and Stefan still weren't official, and according to blondie hadn't had sex since before Lily's death.

"Oh, no, I'd love to see the movie." Caroline said, putting on a smile that Bonnie knew was definitely at least half faked. Bonnie knew that if Caroline wanted to get into it right then, she would've, so she let it go, and decided Caroline was an adult, and could regret the movie choice later.

Ten minutes later they were all sitting in the soft cushioned reclining seats of the AMC Theater, the trailers almost over and the room filled a little more than half way. The movie had been out for several weeks so it wasn't packed like it would've been on premiere or the previous week. They each had a drink, and two buckets of popcorn to share. Half of one of them was over by the time the previews were. Bonnie had realized she had hardly eaten in the last day she was so worried about everyone else.

Bonnie and Damon were seated in a love seat style recliner that didn't have a armrest in the middle for couples. Bonnie hadn't been sure of this decision, Damon had not been very affectionate in the last few weeks; but, when suddenly ten minutes into the movie his arm found his way around her waist, and pulled her closer, she felt a flutter of happiness in her chest. She wiggled to get even closer against him, and nuzzles his shoulder very softly. When she looked up, his blue eyes were pouring down at her in a way they hadn't in what felt like forever. His other hand took his, and he threaded their fingers together. Holding her husbands hand, Bonnie turned her head to watch the movie with a returned sense of being loved and wanted. It really hadn't taken that much to make her heart skip a beat, and this was how she knew she truly loved him...

Caroline on the other hand, seemed to grow more restless and sad as she looked over at Bonnie and Damon. Twenty five minutes into the movie, and the main characters had already kissed, but Caroline found she could not pay attention for the life of her. Her eyes met Bonnie's when she happened to look over for just a moment. Bonnie could tell she was feeling down, and gave her a apologetic look before returning to look at the screen. Caroline was beginning to wonder if Stefan wanted to be with her, she'd been thinking about that heavily for the last week...

Just as Caroline was sighing, and prepared to spend the rest of the movie being miserable, she felt a warm and familiar hand reach over and grab her hand that was sitting on her lap. Alistair had taken her hand, and tangled his fingers with hers, and was caressing her hand with his thumb. This affectionate action suddenly pulled Caroline's doubts from her head, and she looked over at him. His lips turned up at the corners, and she smiled back, wondering if she'd just been being silly the entire time...

About halfway through the movie, Caroline and Alistair both needed their drinks refilled, so they asked Bonnie and Damon if they needed anything.

"More popcorn!" Bonnie exclaimed hungrily, and a bit too loudly. Several shushes came form around them and Bonnie sunk slowly down in her seat against Damon. She could feel him shake with a chuckle, and this made her smile, ignoring her embarrassment.

"The movie's good." Caroline commented as she carried Bonnie and Damon's popcorn bucket and Alistair carried the two empty cups.

"Really? I think it's a little too cliché." Alistair replied with a soft smile, and Caroline shrugged.

He chuckled lightly, and they stopped at the drink fountain. "You know... I'm sorry if I've been distant, I've been...putting all my energy in school lately." Alistair told Caroline who looked at him even more curiously. "If I don't focus on schoolwork I end up focusing on...mom."

Caroline furrowed her brow and nodded, and decided to take the subject off Lily. "You know, you've actually never told me your major." she told him, finding this interesting since they had been together intimately and Stefan seemed to talk about most things – but not school.

"It's business, and law." Alistair replied, well versed, "Though my second passion...is architecture. Which, I am taking on the side." He grinned at her, the fist grin she had seen in weeks, and her heart was fluttering, and her brain spinning at this new information about him.

"Wow, Stefan...that's, amazing. I honestly had no idea." Caroline replied, seeming a little starstruck. She was very happy to be learning more about him.

Alistair looked down to appear flustered and chuckled in a way that Caroline found familiar and warm, "I'm not a fan of talking about school, or my dreams. Plus, I wasn't sure you could care." he told her with a honest look in his eyes as he looked back up.

"I will always care." Caroline said quickly, and then almost without thinking, more words spewed from her light pink lips, "Stefan..I..I like you." she took a deep breath as Alistair look back at her, "...I like you, a lot, and I like you more than casually. I promised myself I'd let you know what I want, and at the time I didn't want anything serious, but, I..."

Alistair crossed the two foot distance between them, and kissed her. Her hands moved to his chest and shoulders, and Caroline kissed him back deeply. Alistair's hands grabbed her waist gently, and this kiss one one Caroline had not felt before from Stefan. It felt different...but, damn it felt good. It was a kiss that felt so passionate and intense that her knees were going weak after just ten seconds. Stefan had given her good kisses, but this one...this one felt full of the emotion she craved.

"What is taking them so long to get our popcorn?" Bonnie was asking Damon when almost fifteen minutes had gone by since. Damon sat up slowly, and looked around to see if they were coming back.

"Hell if I know... Let's go check." Damon said before standing up, and Bonnie agreed as she stood up as well, and followed him out of the room.

Bonnie and Damon walked along the hallway and almost passed the drink fountain until they saw two empty drink cups sitting on the counter beside an empty popcorn bucket. It could've been anyone's but, the irony of it all sitting there made them otherwise. They both looked at each other and had a slightly worried looked. They continued forward, but suddenly as they rounded another corner, they nearly ran smack into Caroline and Alistair.

They were kissing, and Stefan had Caroline pressed back against a wall. The couple broke apart quickly, both flushed light pink, and panting. Bonnie was struggling not to laugh, and Damon's face had gone a little red.

"We uh..." Caroline cleared her throat, "Sorry..."

Bonnie exhaled heavily, shook her head a few times to find her train of thought. She could see they were embarrassed, and slowly took Damon's hand. He seemed more uncomfortable than anything else.

"It's fine, but, we could get the drinks and popcorn before the movie ends." Bonnie joked, and everyone nodded in awkward hurried agreement. They all made their way back to the drink fountain, filling Caroline and Alistair's drinks before going to get more popcorn.

Five minutes later they were back in their seats, and hadn't said a single word more about the kiss; but, Bonnie looked over at them periodically, and felt glad they were doing better.

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Heels clicking along the tile flooring of the bathroom. The sun shining through the balcony doors. The smell of cologne mixing with perfume... These were the little things that lined the mid morning as Damon and Bonnie got dressed and ready for brunch with Abby, Mikael, and Maddox. Damon sat only the edge of the freshly made bed buttoning his dress shirt. The occasion wasn't a particularly fancy one, and he could do with a nice white shirt with his jeans. Bonnie on the other hand, looked to Damon, as though she were going to some magnificent party every time she got ready to go somewhere.

Even though she was only wearing a black pencil skirt, and red blouse with short silver heels, Damon couldn't help but stare at her... He hadn't paid much attention to his wife since his mothers death, but, the last few days, he had been growing more engrossed in her. For the first time in a while, he felt good enough to make her feel _good_... In fact that idea was spinning around in his head already that morning.

"You look stunning." Damon told her with a soft smile, and Bonnie smiled back at him, glad for his good mood that day. She knew the sadness and grief wasn't over, but, she would take the little happy moments when she could get them.

"Thank you, baby." Bonnie said with a glimmer in her eyes, and reached behind her head to pin the sides of her curly hair back with several crisscrossed bobby pins.

Damon stood, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek before walking into the bathroom to finish combing his slightly damp hair, even though he knew without gel it'd be sticking up in it's slight curl within the hour. Bonnie finished apply her light pink gloss to her lips in a compact mirror, and checked the filled in arches of her brow.

"So... I've been thinking about making dinner plans with Kai. For you and I." Bonnie mentioned, raising her voice so Damon could hear it. She heard a slight clatter and Damon coughed a bit before replying.

"Uh...really?" Damon asked, exiting the bathroom, and he looked less than thrilled about the thought, much less making actual plans.

Bonnie nodded a bit, noticing his sudden change in mood and expression. "Would you object to just me going to dinner with Kai?" she asked, and when Damon's expression grew almost mortified she quickly added onto her question, "Or..or..Caroline and I. Yes, _Caroline,_ and I."

Damon let go of the breath he was holding and had to resist the urge to rake his fingers through his freshly combed hair.

"Honestly, I don't like any of the options, but, I'd feel better about it if Caroline was there." he told her, and she nodded giving him a understanding smile. Bonnie had taken a great deal of care in thinking about whether she wanted to let Kai back into her life for good. She figured the next step was simply going out for dinner. Bonnie also reminded herself, she could cut him out of her life at any time, even if they started to become friends... Though, if Damon had told her he didn't feel good about her and Kai being in the same room, she would have taken this seriously. Damon's gut feeling usually wasn't wrong.

"Are you sure? I can forget about the idea completely if you feel bad about it." Bonnie said after a second, turning to look at him, placing her compact mirror on the dresser.

"...Yes." Damon struggled to get out. As much as he wanted to tell her no, he didn't have a gut feeling that Bonnie wouldn't be safe. The true reason he felt uncomfortable was because of their close proximity,and he wasn't going to ask Bonnie not to see Kai. He trusted Bonnie.

The two of them headed downstairs, and Wayne was front and center with their coats. He was beyond good at knowing what they needed and when they needed it without a single word from either of them. Daniel walked out as they were putting their coats on.

"We'll be back later, if Stefan comes home before us let him know there's a message on the landline for him." Damon spoke to both men, and Bonnie looked confused.

"We have a landline?" she questioned, and Damon nodded.

"Yes, actually. It's generally for business only." he explained and her lips formed an o.

Well that explained why it hadn't gone off much in the last few months or Bonnie would've likely noticed it. That, or someone was very good at picking the phone up quickly. She hadn't used a landline herself in several years, not even a payphone...

They made their way to Bonnie's car, as Damon was still struggling with having anxiety about driving. Even as he got into Bonnie's car she could see he was getting shaky. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but, she was so worried about ruining whatever good mood he was in that day. Bonnie realized this was not a good mindset, but, they were already speeding down the road, and her mind was set on getting through the day without a hitch.

However, five minutes in, Damon seemed restless. He'd been sleeping a bit better she noticed, but, the better he slept, more he ate, and more he seemed to be moving on from Lily's death, the more restless he got. Bonnie bit at her bottom lip, and tried to figure out what to say. Damon seemed to be able to read her mind because he spoke before she could.

"I...I want to go to an _meeting_ , tonight." Damon said in as calm a voice as he could.

Bonnie knew exactly what he was talking about, and was actually very relieved. He had only been to one meeting and that was well over a month before. She nodded, and gave him the most supportive look that she could. With everything going on, it was easy to forget that Damon was a recovering alcoholic.

"Would you like me to go with you?" Bonnie questioned, but, his slight shake of his head, seemed to cause her actual pain in her chest. She'd been there the first time, something about being there for him, made her feel useful.

"I would rather go on my own, if that's okay." he told her, and she swallowed her emotions, and nodded.

This was about him, not her. Bonnie smiled softly before speaking, "I understand. I can drive you there though."

"That would be great. It's at seven tonight." Damon gave her a soft but slightly nervous smile back. He wished he had gone to more meetings in a row, and kept up with them. His life hadn't exactly been easy to schedule though... Damon was hoping that this would be a fresh start, and nothing else would seriously interrupt his road to recovery.

Ten minutes later and they were at nice little diner along the out skirts of Mystic Falls. Bonnie was more than happy to see her mother, which was a nice change of pace. She could recall wanting to only spend time with her mother, but, had decided to spend time with Mikael and Maddox as well. After Lily's death, Bonnie was realizing how quickly people could be gone. Even thinking about contacting her father, even if part of her wanted to wait for Rudy to come crawling back to her.

"Bonnie, Damon, I'm so glad you could make it." Abby told the two of them as they sat down at a booth along the corner of the small town diner. Bonnie and Damon smiled back politely at them.

"I take it you've been here before?" Mikael asked casually as he was fixing Maddox into a wooden booster chair at the front of the table.

"I have, Damon hasn't I don't think..." Bonnie replied, but her eyes shifted over to her husband to make sure she was remembering that correctly.

Damon shook his head a bit, "No, I haven't. It looks nice though, very homey."

Abby smiled, and just as Maddox was trying to wiggle his way out of the belt of his seat the waitress stepped over. She had a name tag which said 'Tiffaene', a blonde pixie cut, and bright white smile she flaunted effortlessly. Her white button up shirt was unbuttoned to the third button, and her dark blue flared skirt reached her knees. The color of her makeshift uniform made her dark tan stand out even more.

"Hi, I'm Tiffaene, an I'll be your server today, what can I get y'all?" she asked, and her accent was a thick country accent. It was obvious she hadn't grown up in Virginia. Bonnie and Damon both had a mild accent but it was no where near as noticeable as the waitresses thick southern accent.

After the four adults had ordered, and Abby had ordered some easily smash-able fruits and oatmeal for Maddox, the five of them sat there and it was obvious it was growing difficult to find something to talk about. None of them wanted to ask the obvious question. How were they doing since Lily's death? Yet, somehow the subject was creeping up as each second went by.

"How...have you been dealing since your mothers death, if I may ask, Damon?" Abby questioned him, and Damon was taking a drink of his coffee.

"Well, not the best. Getting by one day at a time." he replied quietly.

Abby nodded and her gaze moved to Bonnie for a moment, "When my mother... Bonnie's grandmother, passed away, I wasn't there. Not getting to say goodbye to my mother, and leaving Bonnie are my two biggest regrets."

Bonnie felt a squeeze in her chest, and while a part of her still felt frustrated with her mother for leaving her, memories of her grams were wandering around her in head. The day she had died had been the one of the worst days in Bonnie's life. Sheila was one of the few people that seemed to understand anything and everything... The table was quiet for several moments as everyone ate, and Abby fed Maddox.

"We, ah, just finished with Lily's will." Damon spoke, revealing information that he wasn't required to, "The house was left to Stefan and I. We've all pretty much decided it's going to stay a family home. People can come and go as they please."

"Though, I'm pretty sure Stefan is going to still be living there permanently until he's sixty." Bonnie joked a little, and this broke some of the tension, and invoked a few chuckles.

Bonnie was glad that Damon was sharing more about their lives with her mother, and step father. She was also just glad in general that he was talking at all. The last few weeks had been hold up in the house, or silence even when they went out; but, since the movies, things had really been looking up.

"She...left some things for grand children." Bonnie explained as she swallowed a bite of pancake, "Since there's no grandkids to speak of, it just go to Damon and I."

Abby nodded curiously, and Bonnie could tell there was a question bubbling up in her head. Mikael seemed to be on the same page because before she could ask, he did.

"Are you guys planning on having children?" Mikael questioned, seeming to have less of a problem asking it than Abby did.

Bonnie flushed a light pink, and Damon chuckled weakly.

"Well, it's not quite anyone's business...but, we want to have a kid, or two. Not sure when, definitely not at the present moment." Damon replied for the both of them, knowing good and well what they both wanted. They were on the same page, and at least that could be said for them.

Abby sighed, and shook her head, putting a hand over one of Mikael's on the table, "He doesn't understand privacy sometimes." she said in a half joking manner, and Mikael looked at her amusingly, not taking her words personally. He clearly knew his own faults.

From then on the conversations were less intense, and more about memories. Silly, funny, happy, and sometimes embarrassing memories. It was a nice change compared to the few other conversations Bonnie and Abby had been a part of since her return. It was one of the first times Bonnie felt like she could really get used to this new family dynamic.

An hour later, and they were all full, and fairly talked out. While it was true they could've stayed and talked for a couple more hours if they wanted to, Maddox was growing cranky. He'd talked a little bit himself, but, his conversations tended to be short lived, and scattered. He would ask a question about something beyond random and fairly incomprehensible, and then during the answering that was being given, start playing with his pacifier and mumbling on about something else.

"No! I wamma say!" Maddox was insisting as Abby was pulling him out of the booster chair. He'd gotten a bit more articulate even over the last few months. When he wanted to be that was.

"Ohh, you'll get to see sissy again." Abby assured him but he looked absolutely devastated at the idea of not seeing Bonnie and Damon for more than two second. He leaned backwards in Abby's arms and put his own arms up, and let his body go almost limp over dramatically and made a 'Ahhhh' sound that wasn't a scream, but more of a groan and sigh at the same time.

"I say sis sis am Dwamon!?" Maddox asked as he was tipped backwards, his wide eyes staring at Bonnie and Damon desperately. As though staying the night with them was the absolute most important thing he could ever do in his two years of life.

Bonnie chuckled and looked at her brother before looking up at his parents. "Well..." she started and looked over at Damon who nodded, "...he can stay the night if you two are fine with that."

"I'm okay with it." Mikael replied, and Abby pursed her lips before shaking her head with a chuckle.

"Alright! You can stay the night with Damon and Bonnie." she told the little boy who looked at her curiously almost in disbelief.

"Yes, you can stay the night." Abby repeated in a more baby like tone, and Maddox giggled and clapped his hands happily.

Maddox instantly tried to launch himself into Bonnie's arms but Abby held onto him tightly.

"Damon has to go somewhere later this evening, but you can drop him off at the house." Bonnie suggested as they were all putting their coats on, and each tossed a dollar bill or so on the table.

Abby smiled as she was getting Maddox's boots on, he hadn't seemed to register that he wasn't going with Bonnie, right then. "Of course, I will drop him off around three?"

"That sounds good." Damon agreed, and Abby juggled Maddox in her arms for a moment before she got him in a comfortable position on her hip. When they all started walking out, Bonnie could hear Maddox fussing when he realized he was going in his moms car, and would have to wait too see his sister and brother-in-law again.

So, before she got into the drivers seat, Bonnie turned, and waved lovingly at her little brother as he looked over his moms shoulder. He looked at her with a teary eyed look, but smiled still and reached a hand out to her. This made her heart feel like it had swelled two sizes and her lips pulled up at the edges.

* * *

When Bonnie and Damon walked into the house, the front door closing behind them, the next thing they heard was a bit of laughter from the living room. When they made their way into the room, Caroline was hurrying off of Alistair's lap, and they both looked a bit pit. Damon immediately turned and disappeared from the room, but Bonnie chuckled lowly, and waited for Caroline to be seated beside Stefan before speaking to them.

"Maddox will be coming over, so you need to take this back to your place Caroline if it's going to continue." Bonnie told them, pointing a little with her finger. Caroline had a look of 'are you my mother?', but Bonnie thought 'Stefan' looked lascivious more than anything.

Caroline stood from the couch and finger combed her blonde hair into a pony tail. "Actually, I need to visit my mom. So, I'll see you guys tomorrow." she said, with a slight questionable inflection at the end. Stepping closer to Bonnie, Caroline gave her a soft hug before disappearing from the room.

Bonnie's eyes shifted over to Alistair who was running his fingers through his maple colored hair. "I can't wait to see Maddox again." Alistair said with a soft smile as he grabbed the open laptop that was on the table, "I better get some course work in before the little guy gets here."

Giving Alistair a friendly smile, and a slight nod, Bonnie turned and left the living room to find Damon. She walked down the hallway off the living room and kitchen, and as she passed the dining room, she remembered the last serious dinner they had had. Right after new years... She sighed and shook the cloud that was forming over her head away. The double doors into the library were open, and when Bonnie looked inside she saw Damon sitting in one of the single chairs, a book in his hands. His coat was no where to be seen. The book was unopened so she wasn't sure if he had started reading it yet. She made her way over to him, and placed herself in his lap without a 'May I?'. Damon didn't seem to mind, and held the book off to the side, placing his free arm around her body.

Neither of them spoke, but, while Bonnie was on Damon's lap she shrugged out of her coat, and pulled her phone out. Pressing onto Kai's contact on her phone, she made clear to Damon what she was going after the phone stopped ringing and Kai answered.

"Hi, Kai. It's Bonnie. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with Caroline and I on Saturday?" she asked into the phone and try as Damon might, his face showed he was uncomfortable. He could hear Kai's reply through the phone, even without the speaker on. There was also a loud sound of machinery and other men yelling orders in the background.

"Oh, Bonnie, I'm go glad you called. I'd love that." Kai replied, seeming to have to talk much louder to be heard.

Bonnie's eyes stayed on Damon to watch his reactions, "What time is good for you?"

Damon listened as Kai told her that six on Saturday was good, and made a mental note of where Bonnie asked him to meet Caroline and her. The conversation lasted another minute after the time and place was set. Kai telling Bonnie he was sorry for all the noise, and informing her that he was foreman of the project going on in Richmond. Damon then made another less innocent mental note that Kai worked close to the Salvatore Ballet Virginia Headquarters. When the call finally ended, Damon's hand was squeezing the book a bit tighter than before, and he was obviously antsy and uncomfortable.

"You sure about this? I can as easily call him back and cancel." Bonnie said, her eyes shifting all along his face.

"No, it's okay." Damon told her, and swallowed, loosening his grip on the book and smiling gently at her. Bless the man.

Damon took a breath, deciding to quickly change the subject. "I'm struggling a little. That's why I want to go to the meeting alone." he told her, and Bonnie blinked, not having expected him to say that.

"I know you've been struggling. I know you, babe. I'll always be here for you." Bonnie assured him, and at the same moment came to terms with not being able to go to the meeting with him. She turned slightly in his lap, and pressed her lips to his. Damon's arm tightened around her body, and he kissed her back affectionately. It felt amazing, and it was something he'd been missing more than he had realized.

Her warm sweet lips against his. It was a feeling he never wanted to forget again... After another moment or two of kissing each other, Damon opened the book that was in his hand to the first page. His eyes shifted to Bonnie, who immediately knew that he wanted her to read to him. Bonnie held up the other side of the book with her own hand, and began reading softly, but loud enough for Damon to hear.

They were four chapters into the book when the doorbell rang. They'd spent longer reading than they had known.  
"You get to read the next four chapters." Bonnie chuckled, and stood from the chair after putting a bookmark into the book. She stretched her arms above her head, and her elbows, shoulders, and back cracked lightly as she did so. She yawned softly, and Damon sneakily put his hands on her lips, pulled her back against his chest. Suddenly, he kissed her neck twice, and then was disappearing from the library to answer the door, leaving Bonnie flustered and a little dizzy.

"It must be Abby." Bonnie said as she gathered herself and quickly sprinted out of the library and down the hall to keep up with Damon. She stopped beside him at the door right before he opened it. She was right. Abby was standing in front of the door carrying a less cranky looking Maddox and a large blue and pink diaper bag.

"Maddox! Hi, there handsome." Bonnie said with a grin on her face, nearly bouncing on her toes to grab him into her arms from Abby. Maddox giggled and clung to her for dear life once he was in her arms. She bounced him playfully, and he smiled, and shoved his hand into his mouth at the same time.

"He was so excited to come here." Abby chuckled as she was still holding the diaper bag. Damon smiled softly over at Maddox. He was like a little ball of light, and honestly, it was what they needed.

Abby smiled adoringly at her son and daughter. "In this bag there are two outfits, and two pairs of pajamas. Just in case one is two hot, cold, or gets dirty. There are pull ups, and Maddox will usually say something if he has to go potty but, please, ask every once and a while. There is three bottles worth of milk that should be kept in the fridge, soft toddler crackers... Maddox can eat soft vegetables and fruits but they need to be cut up very small. There are several toys, and his nightlight, that he absolutely will demand." Abby chuckled, and took a huge breath after her long winded informational speech.

Bonnie blinked, realizing something. "Oh...shi...shoot, I didn't think of where Maddox is going to sleep." she said feeling stupid. She'd read things about co-sleeping, both good and bad; but, the idea wasn't one she found particularly comfortable. Especially since Damon was a big guy.

"I may have put Wayne on the fast track of buying a crib, in the three hour time frame we had." Damon explained scratching a the back of his head, " Daniel is upstairs putting it together in our room."

Bonnie looked at him in slight disbelief, but, noticed that he looked kind of proud, and embarrassed. She smiled, and Abby chuckled nearly at the same time as her.

"I brought a fold-able playpen, but, a crib a certainly better." Abby commented, and handed the diaper bag to Bonnie who carefully balanced it and Maddox. "Damon, can you help me get the car seat out of the car? You'll need it in case you decide to take Maddox anywhere."

Damon nodded and stepped in front of Bonnie. "Don't worry, we won't take him anywhere far from Mystic Falls mom." Bonnie assured her, and Abby looked surprised to hear the word 'mom'. Damon smiled and have a agreeing look, but added, "We could use the address of where you are staying in case you need us to bring him there."

Finally, once Abby was gone, and had given them the address Damon helped Bonnie bring all of Maddox's things including the car seat into the living room where Alistair still was. Alistair smiled softy at Maddox. Maddox looked curiously at him with his green eyes and fingers in his mouth. After a moment, the small boy was passed to Damon.  
Bonnie grabbed the bottles of milk from the bag and left the room to take them to the kitchen.

Damon sat down on the couch a few feet form Alistair, and placed Maddox on his knee. He bounced him softly, and listened to his happy laughter, and smiles. "You shouldn't eat your hand buddy." he whispered, and pulled the drooly hand from the childs mouth. Maddox giggled and in way that might've seemed purposeful, placed his wet hand on Damon's cheek and drug it downwards.

"Eww!" Damon said mock-dramatically and made a yucky face at Maddox, who seemed even more amused. Damon chuckled, and smiled at the boy. For those split seconds, Damon forgot completely about Lily, and any issues he was dealing with. For right then, it was just happy, smiling, laughing, drooly, Maddox.

Bonnie walked back into the room, and laid a soft blanket down onto the floor for Maddox. She pulled his toys out of the diaper bag, and noticed there were a few teething rings in there. "Baby, can you put these in the freezer so they get cold for him?" she asked Damon, who stood, and set Maddox down on the blanket before taking the teething rings. Bonnie grabbed a pacifier from the bag as well and held it out to see if Maddox wanted it. Maddox grabbed it and with his little hands and pushed it lopsided into his mouth. Bonnie chuckled, and turned it the right way.

"The crib is set up, all safe for the little one." Daniel spoke from the doorway, and Bonnie whom was knelt on the blanket, looked over at him. "Thank you so much, and tell Wayne to come in here when he is able."

Bonnie looked at the foam blocks, stuffed bear, and the several female dolls clothed in brightly colored dresses, as well as a male doll in swim shorts and t-shirt, all without their shoes or any small easily swallowed items. She smiled and picked one up, pretending to walk it towards Maddox who picked up a red haired doll, and wiggled it around aimlessly.

Her eyes flickering to Alistair, Bonnie noticed he was looking at them, having closed his laptop. "Do you want to hold him?" she questioned the man. Alistair nodded and moved down onto the blanket beside them. Maddox kept the doll in his grasp as Alistair gently pulled him into his arms and lap. However, a second later, and Maddox started to look very uncomfortable. His eyes shooting up to Alistair, his eyebrows furrowing, and he started squirming around in his arms.

The pacifier fell from Maddox's mouth and he quickly went to a distressed state, fussing, and crying, tears dripping from his eyes. He squirmed and cried, and moved as though he was trying to tear himself out of Alistair's arms.  
Bonnie quickly grabbed him from Alistair, and started rocking him softly. The strangest thing happened, Maddox stopped trying almost instantly, once he was in her arms. She hushed him a few more times to be certain, but the boy's body was calm again, and he simply clung to Bonnie nuzzling her shoulder with his small face. Bonnie's gaze met Alistair's, they both held looks of confusion. Bonnie laughed a short tense laugh as she tried to assure Alistair that he hadn't done anything wrong.

Alistair put on a worried, and embarrassed face. But as Damon was walking back in the room, and Bonnie was looking away. His face went blank, and his eyes uncaring.

* * *

 ** _Please leave a review! Thank you!_**


	35. Mending and Mysteries

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait, I assure you chapter 35 will come a lot quicker.

* * *

 **Chapter 34 - Mending and Mysteries.**

 **Wednesday January 27th 2016**

The smell of grilled chicken wafted into the living room from the kitchen. Bonnie and Damon sat on the floor feeding Maddox, while the man they believed was Stefan cooked all of the adults dinner. Maddox was happily drinking from a bottle and playing with a dolly at the same time. Occasionally putting a few puffy baby crackers into his mouth. Damon lifted the small toddler onto his crossed legs, and Maddox looked at him with his wide eyes full of curiosity. He seemed pretty calmed down from the earlier incident with Alistair, and hadn't started crying again since.

"You're such a good boy," Damon smiled at him softly, "Eating all of your dinner."

Bonnie reached over and tickled Maddox belly very softly, and listened to him giggle. Once he was done eating, they were back to playing. Stacking soft cubes, making dolls talk, and hearing animal sounds could wear any human being out after long enough; but, it was still only time for dinner. At the dinner table, Bonnie and Damon took turns holding Maddox on their lap, since they didn't have a high chair.

"This is delicious, Stefan." Bonnie smiled, glad that she hadn't needed to cook. She was already growing tired from her few hours with Maddox. Though, the last few weeks had been exhausting on their own. Getting back into practicing dance was harder than she thought it would be. Alistair smiled at her, waving his fork in the air for a moment. "It's the least I could do." He replied, his eyes shifting to Maddox on Damon's lap for a moment. "How's the little guy doing?"

Damon looked down at Maddox whose gaze fell on Alistair the second he started talking. His eyes were a little wide, and he seemed nervous. He wasn't crying, but, he wasn't the same as he had been in the living room. Bonnie noticed as well, and frowned a bit, confused. Maddox had met Stefan before briefly, it was strange that he was so unnerved around him.

"Maybe he just hasn't gotten to know you well enough..." Damon said slowly, and bounced Maddox on his knee for a second. "Stefan is a very respectable guy, Maddox. You just need to give him a chance." Maddox blinked and looked up at Damon for a second, while starting to chew on his knuckles.

Bonnie chuckled, and shook her head, leaning down to Maddox a little. "Stefan is nice, Maddox. He loves you." she told her brother in the fewer words he needed to be able to understand. Damon gave a embarrassed look and Bonnie smiled at him with a shrug. Maddox could understand they were talking to him, but concept wise, he needed small and few words to fully comprehend.

Maddox made a soft affectionate gurgle before pointing a wet hand at Alistair. "Nice?" He asked with wide eyes.  
"Yeah! Stefan is your _family_." Bonnie smiled at him, saying the word family slowly and with harder pronunciation. Maddox looked straight into Alistair's olive green eyes for a solid two seconds without blinking.

Maddox made a anxious whine of a sound and pulled his arms to his body tightly. "Is scary! Sissy!" He said with a exaggerated gasp, and flailed out of Damon's lap and over into Bonnie's. "I want sissy." he said in a huff even once he was in her lap, but calmed after a second, his face against her shoulder. Bonnie furrowed her brow and shot Alistair an apologetic look.

"Poor guy." Alistair said in a affectionate tone but his gaze was low. He got up from his chair to pick up the dishes from the table. "You two worry about him, I'll clean up."

"Thank you, oh, I am dropping Damon off at a..." Bonnie looked at Damon who nodded..."...AA meeting tonight, so we'll be gone for a bit." she explained. Alistair looked completely unphased, of course. He was supposed to know this information, and he knew everything he was supposed to know...and more that he wasn't. He nodded, and gave a soft understanding and empathetic look.

"I could watch Maddox while you drop Damon off." Alistair offered, holding plates and silverware in his hands.  
Bonnie took a slow breath and looked down at her little brother. She tried to find a good way to say that it wasn't a good idea with how Maddox had been acting about Stefan, but, decided for another route.

"I think Abby would probably be more comfortable if we take him with us." Bonnie explained, and Alistair nodded, before turning to go into the kitchen. Maddox nuzzled his face against her shoulder, seeming tired already.

Damon pulled his phone from his pocket to look at the time. "We should probably get going." He told her as he moved out of his chair, and picked up Maddox from her lap very slowly, letting him decide to grab his arms. Bonnie got up from her chair as well, and left the dining room to grab Maddox's shoes and jacket. Damon bounced Maddox around just a little, not wanting to upset his stomach, but wanting to get him in a happier mood. A few moments later Bonnie was back, and they were all ready to get on the road.

Maddox was tucked and buckled into his rear facing car seat, a few soft blocks and his pacifier to occupy him, Damon was in the passenger seat of Bonnie's car, and Bonnie was in the drivers. She pulled out of the drive way and onto the road, driving a little slower than the speed limit, not wanting to send Damon into any kind of panic, but after he seemed to be doing okay she sped up to the limit. Maddox was fairly quiet in the back, playing with his blocks, and getting sleepy from his full tummy and the smooth car ride. Bonnie looked over at Damon who was fiddling with his fingers and cuffs of his shirt; but he didn't look nervous about the ride.

"You doing alright?" She asked, keeping both hands on the wheel.

"A little nervous. I wish I would've gone to the meetings regularly...instead of just once." Damon admitted.

Bonnie nodded softly. "Well, we can make sure you get there regularly now, if you need that." She told him, and in her head she wanted to ask more about how he was doing, and if he was really feeling the tug of drinking again. She knew he was having a hard time, but she didn't know everything she wish she knew. Bonnie wanted him to express all those emotions to her; but, she realized, there were sometimes when he needed a group of people he wasn't married or related to, to share his struggles with. He would tell her how he was doing, when he felt stable enough. At least, she was sure of this.

Before they knew it, they were sitting in the parking lot of the AA meeting building. There were about a dozen cars in the lot, and a few people still walking into the meeting. Some of them looking like well dressed 9-5 citizens, and others appearing to be not doing so well in their finances. Definitely an array of people. Bonnie shut the car off for a moment, and looked in the rear view at Maddox, she could see his head was tilted a bit, as he'd drifted into a nap.

"Call me when you're ready to be picked up, alright baby?" Bonnie said softly, and leaned over as far as her seat belt would allow, and kissed Damon's cheek.

"I will." Damon agreed, and used his thumb to turn her cheek, and press his lips against hers lovingly. His thumb drifted along her cheek in a caress for a few second before he pulled away and took his seatbelt off. "Drive saftely, sweetheart." he added, with a look of worry in his eyes.

Bonnie put a hand to her chest and then waved it at him. "Don't worry." she whispered, and he did the same with his hand and heart before opening the door, getting out, and closing it. As Bonnie pulled the car out and left, Damon watched her, and she watched him for a brief moment before pulling out onto the road and then keeping her eyes on it. As she was driving she decided that a trip to the store might be a good way to pass the time. She didn't want to go home and have to pick up Damon again in another hour. The store was only ten minutes away from the AA meeting, where as home was twenty at least. So, she pulled onto the highway, coasted for about seven minutes, and then pulled off onto an exit, and a half mile later turned into the parking lot of a store with red coloring theme scattered around every inch, from the cart caddies, to the lettering of the sign, and handles on the carts.

"Alright, Maddox..." Bonnie said softly as she unbuckled the seat belt from his car seat, and he fluttered his eyelids as he woke up a bit, "If you can be good in here then I'll buy you a nice toy, huh?" She smiled at him. She knew very well being good shouldn't be connected with getting things, but, she was being sweet to her brother, and he was only two after all.

Since he was still sleepy she picked him up out of his car seat, and stood near the car bouncing him around a little, and letting him get used to the chill in the air to wake him up enough. After a few minutes he was wide eyed and excited for his new surroundings. Bonnie locked the car, stuck him in the seat of a cart, put his pacifier in his mouth and headed into the store. Maddox was a pretty silent but curious kid. He would point at things, but didn't scream or toss his pacifier out onto the floor. Bonnie humored her brother and told him what he was pointing at: shiny toasters,  
blue piggy banks, giant stuffed bears, and inhumanly big bouncy balls. Eventually, she'd bought herself several new lipsticks, foundation, body wash, experimental lubricant, and two dresses. Then she headed into the toddler toy isle, and went through almost every single toy with Maddox until he just _couldn't_ decide between a plush light saber, and a pink princess play tent that he nearly jumped out of the cart for.

"Okay, I get you these... you have chores, you understand?" Bonnie joked in a mock stern voice, and Maddox just smiled at her with puppy eyed and clung to his light saber. She chuckled, and headed for the front of the store. She'd get him every single toy in there, she could damn well afford it-but she assumed her mother wouldn't appreciate that very much. Two things should be okay, right?

As she was checking out, and swiping the card to pay for everything while a clerk put the bagged merchandise back into the cart and gave Maddox friendly waves, Bonnie spotted a familiar couple of people with camera's.

"Seriously?" she mumbled to herself, and then thanked the clerk and cashier before rolling the cart towards the door.  
"Hey, no pictures!" Bonnie said sternly at the paparazzi and put her arm in front of Maddox's face as best as she could as she tried to get out of the store.

"Bonnie, who is that you have with you?" One of them asked as she was moving through the parking lot, and Maddox was trying to look at them curiously as they followed her like vultures.

Bonnie sighed, and turned to face them once they'd gotten to the car. "I am not interested in answering any questions. And do not post pictures of him. You do not have permission!" she was getting loud now, quite obviously annoyed. There was no telling what might happen if pictures of Maddox and Bonnie surfaced. Questions would arise and have to be answered. It was not Bonnie's place to put Maddox in the media. Clearly that was not something Abby wanted. Though she should have expected this would happen if she let Maddox stay with Damon and her. They'd need to discuss this the next day.

"Do you secretly have a child?" A man with a camera asked and Bonnie's face went hot.

"Does he look like my secret child? Do you think I'd be at the store with my secret child!?" She was almost yelling, and stepping closer to the three paparazzi who hadn't taken any pictures yet but had their hands ready for it.

Suddenly a familiar voice sounded as a familiar face came into view behind the media crows. "Leave her the fuck alone why don't you?" Kai said and shoved his way through them and placed all six feet of himself in front of Bonnie and the cart with Maddox, crossing his arms over his chest. "Screw off!" he ordered, and made a threatening forward posture. The photographers quickly dispersed back towards the store.

Bonnie exhaled heavily, surprised. "Kai..." she said catching her breath, "What are you doing here?" She had to admit it was a little strange that he was also at the store the same time as her. He didn't appear to have any bags with him. Of course he could have been just arriving.

"I came to buy supplies to redo my bathroom." He explained, and motioned a thumb to the side, showing a cart filled to the brim near a black pickup truck that had the tail gate down.

"Oh, well, thank you." Bonnie chuckled, and realized she was being a little paranoid with thinking Kai followed her there.

Kai smiled at her, but had a worried look in his eyes. "Need any help getting stuff in the car?"

"I think I'm fine." she said, but he put his hands on his hips. "I insist." Kai said and walked around to the side to see Maddox.

"Well, hi there little guy." he said and tilted his head to the side. Maddox was looking up at Kai with curiosity and wide eyes. Reached a hand out near his shirt. Bonnie smiled, and turned around to face both of them.

"This is my little brother, Maddox." Bonnie explained, feeling comfortable enough. Kai had met Abby of course, and the paparazzi was no where near anymore. Kai shook Maddox's hand playfully, and then went about helping Bonnie get everything into her car. Kai even told Maddox how cool his light saber and princess play tent were, jokingly saying he was jealous. Bonnie found herself smiling, and feeling much more comfortable around Kai than she had been at the dinner party. That night had been tense, but, right then, she wasn't feeling resentful, or awkward.

"Thank you, Kai." Bonnie said when the deed was done and Maddox was back in his car seat already starting to fall asleep.

Kai turned to look at her, making sure his cart was still by his car. He was obviously more trusting than most people would be. Leaving his cart of stuff just sitting there by his open tailgate. No one had taken it though.

"You're welcome..." He said and then lifted a hand to stratch at the back of his head like he was a little nervous, "Ah so, I was gonna call you 'bout this, but, I need to change the dinner date to Monday at seven, if that's alright with you."

"Sure, that's fine. I am not sure if Caroline can make it though. I'll have to ask." Bonnie smiled at him softly, wanting to get on the best foot and she was feeling oddly cheery all of the sudden. The annoyance the paparazzi had caused was long gone, and she riding high off the happiness of a possible friends kindness.

Kai gave her a bashful but thankful smile, and they parted ways. Bonnie watched him go to his cart and start piling stuff into the back of his truck just like he'd said. She got into her car, and looked at her phone. Damon had called three minutes before. So, she hadn't missed it by too long. Bonnie closed the door, put her belt on, and called Damon back.

"I was in the store babe, sorry." She said quickly, and brushed her hair out of her face.

"That's alright, I'm done here though. I'm standing out front." Damon said from the other end, sounding a bit drained.  
Bonnie started the car, but didn't pull out yet. "Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."

Sure enough, ten minutes later she was pulling into the lot of the meeting, and pulling up to where Damon was. When he got into the passenger seat he looked a little frazzled, but not as anxious as he was before. His sleeves were rolled up and his hair was messier. But, he wasn't fiddling, and his hands weren't shaky. He looked for the most part, tired.

"Did your meeting go okay?" She asked slowly as they pulled onto the road.

"It went good. I'm feeling better. I do need to start coming once a week though." Damon said with a sigh, and leaned his head back against the seat. It was true, he did feel better. He wasn't exactly over his mothers death by any means, but, he didn't feel the unnerving urge to reach for a bottle in that moment. Talking to other people had helped, even if he hadn't put in much detail. Most of all, listening to other people tell their stories, progress and emotions, was amazing. He knew he wasn't alone, but hearing it, and hearing people in similar situations was very calming for him.

Bonnie smiled softly, and looked over at him for just a moment. "Of course." she agreed on the topic again, and decided to put the date on the calendar, and make sure nothing ever overlapped it, and she could get Damon there when he needed to be.

"Thank you, baby." Damon said softly after a few moments, reaching over to touch her thigh with his hand. Bonnie's skin instantly formed goosebumps on her arms and shoulders. She smiled, and bit at her bottom lip.

"You're welcome." she said, not even needing to ask what he was thankful for. She was well aware just by his touch and voice. As they continued driving, Maddox was fast asleep, and Damon caressed Bonnie's leg softly. It gesture she very much needed. There were many other intimate things she needed, but she was thankful for the progress Damon was making as it was. She would always support her husband, and he her.

When they got home, Damon picked Maddox up from his car seat, and carried him into to put him in his crib. When he got back out, Bonnie was carrying things inside, he helped her, and raised a brow at the toys, but not in a judging manner. More in a, 'you know he's going to want us to set that up tomorrow right?' type of way. Bonnie nudged him playfully with her hip, and they brought the rest of the bags inside.

"I couldn't help it, he's just too cute." Bonnie chuckled as they stood in front of the living room after taking their coats and shoes off.

Damon smiled at her, and stepped closer. "Cute huh? Makes sense why I want to spoil you." he teased, and placed his hands along her hips, pulling her closer gently. Bonnie flushed lightly, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning up on her toes, she pressed her lips against his, and kissed him affectionately. Their lips moved together slowly, and warmly. It was a calming embrace; until Alistair was suddenly standing to the side of them.

"Uh, sorry love birds..." Alistair said, "But a Mr. Geoffrey is in the office, wanted to talk to you when you got home."

Damon sighed, and his eye's got a little darker, he was visibly annoyed, but slowly let go of Bonnie.  
"Alright, I better get to that." he said and Bonnie gave a little shrug, but kissed his lips once more before watching him turn around. She was curious, and turned to Alistair.

"What is that about?" she asked, even though she could have asked Damon.

Alistair shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, "No idea. Looked serious though." he replied, and Bonnie was a little worried now. Damon had never mentioned a Mr. Geoffrey, and if it was really important wouldn't she have been called in as well, and already know what was going on? With a sigh, she tried to shake it off, knowing she could ask about it when Damon got back out. But, it was a hard thing to just forget about.

Regardless, Bonnie headed up stairs to the bedroom to take a shower. As she was getting undressed, and listening to the hot water run, she realized she hadn't told Damon about running into Kai and changing the date for their dinner.  
She made a mental note to let him know as soon as he was done with his meeting, and got in the shower for a relaxing and cleansing time. When he exited the shower, her face a bit smoother, her hair softer, and mind clearer. She wrapped a towel around her body and headed into the bedroom to check on Maddox in his crib. He was fast sleep in a pair of footie pajamas Damon had somehow gotten him into in record time it seemed, and looked as peaceful as ever. Bonnie smiled, and got herself into her own pair of cotton pajama pants and tank top. Combed her hair, put it up into a ponytail, and headed back downstairs. The next best thing to a shower, was tea. So, that was what she was going for.

"Mrs. Bonnie, are you needing anything?" Mr. Wayne asked from near the stairs, looking as good of a butler as one could look. He even looked a bit cheerier, and seemed to have gotten a new style with his last haircut.

"No, thank you, I would just like to get my own tea." Bonnie replied and gave the man a soft smile, "And, your new haircut looks very nice Mr. Wayne. Takes years off you."

Mr. Wayne smiled back at her in the most professional manner he could, but she could tell he looked a little flustered, and she chuckled, giving him a gentle tap on the shoulder before making her way to the kitchen. Opening a cabinet, Bonnie pulled out a nice white and blue ceramic mug, and filled it with water from the tap. Of course she could have taken the time to brew a carafe of hot water, put tea bags into the carafe and wait for it all to soak; but, she was looking for something quicker. So, she put the mug into the microwave for three minutes, then popped a peppermint tea bag into the water, a little bit of honey, then made her way out of the kitchen.

However, as she was walking back across the entrance to the living room, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and turned around to face the living room. There in the living room near the coffee table was a shirtless Alistair doing push ups. Bonnie blew on her tea as she looked at him, her eyes flickering up then down, then up again.

"Alright, I can definitely understand Caroline." She said quietly, not checking 'Stefan' out in a sexual manner, but, more so in a 'common sense' manner. Alistair moved up from the floor and flicked his hair back with a few movements of his head. His hair was getting longer than Stefan's usually was.

"You say something?" Alistair asked, glistening a bit from sweat, but he didn't look in the slightest bit worn out, and he was pretty well built, Bonnie had never noticed Stefan being that build before. Damon had always been the more built of the two. But, of course Damon was focused on more important things lately than hitting the weights.

Bonnie raised her eyebrows innocently, as if to ask, 'Who me?'. "Oh, nothing Stefan." she assured him, and then as she was turning again, Damon came walking down the hallway from the library. Bonnie turned and gave him a smile, happy to see him, and happy to not have to explain her slightly awkward comment to Alistair.

"Hey honey." She said in a sweet voice, trying to gauge if his mood was bad or good.

"I'm sorry that took so long." Damon said, stopping in front of her, and there was a brunette haired man in his forties stepping up from behind him. "This is Mr. Geoffrey."

Bonnie blinked, and extended a hand towards the man in his gray suit. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Bonnie Salvatore, of course." He shook her hand, but didn't say anything. His expression seemed uninterested, a little tired. Damon's expression seemed fine, though he looked tired as well.

Damon led Mr. Geoffrey out of the front door, and then turned around to look at Bonnie who was looking at him curiously. "I have to meet with Mr. Geoffrey again tomorrow." he told her as he stepped closer, gazing at the tea in her hands for a moment and then her eyes.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, even more confused. This seemed like it was about the business; but that didn't make any sense, Damon was on a break from that. "I thought Zach has control of the family business for now." She voiced her confusion, and could see Alistair to the side of them just cranking out sit-ups.

"It's about something else." Damon assured her, and confused her at the same time. Bonnie chuckled lightly, thinking maybe he was being vague simply because he was tired. She tilted her head to the side. "What about?" she questioned, prodding him a bit to get more information. However, he didn't seem to want to answer her, or was trying to act like whatever was going on wasn't important. Which, Damon knew what he was doing.

He rubbed at the back of his neck, and then gave her a soft smile. "Everything's fine, Bon-Bon. I'd just like to go to bed." Damon said softly, and stepped closer to give her a soft kiss on the lips. Bonnie kissed him back, and whispered goodnight, but as he was walking up the stairs narrowed her eyes. Damon wouldn't lie to her, so, she was having a hard time figuring out what exactly his angle was.

Bonnie turned back around to look at Alistair for a moment, and she almost started down the hallway until she saw something weird. On who she believed was Stefan's left shoulder was a tattoo. Except, it looked blurry, and like it wasn't exactly all there. Which was weird because she could see everything else in the room, and his body in definition, except whatever was on his shoulder. She couldn't quite remember if it had been there before or not, she didn't think so.

Shaking her head, she turned and headed for the library, deciding her tea would go well with a book. In the morning, she'd ask Damon more about Mr. Geoffrey and this so called meeting.

* * *

Please **leave a review**!


	36. Sweet Surprises Grow Fonder

_**Chapter 35 -** Sweet Surprises Grow Fonder_

 **The Next Morning.**

Bonnie sat on the end of the bed, Maddox in her arms as he sat on her knee. She was getting him dressed so that he would be ready when Abby came to pick him up. As she slid his small socks onto his feet, her eyes moved back to the bed. Damon wasn't there, and she knew that, but she stilled looked... Something about having Maddox for the last day made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. It made her want to skip ahead to the future when her and Damon would have a little chubby baby of their own. However, it was absolutely not the time to even mention such things. There was too much going on, between Lily's death, Damon's recovery, and the both of them deciding what they wanted to do with their future.

Bonnie sighed, and looked back at Maddox who was staring at her curiously with his messy bedhead curls.  
"You're so sweet, hmm." Bonnie smiled softly at him, and bounced him on her knee softly, listening to him giggle softly. The little boy was such a mood lifter, even when he was cranky like he had been when she first pulled him out of the crib.

She stood up from the bed, and walked with him into the bathroom, and grabbed a comb as well as a little spray bottle of water. Walking back into the room, she sat on the bed with her brother and gently dampened and comb his curly hair while he smiled, squirmed and tried to turn around several times. When she was done, she grabbed his diaper bag in one hand, and carried him in the other down the stairs. Smelling breakfast coming from the kitchen, she turned to go there, but, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" She called to the door as she stood at the end of the foyer.

The door opened and Abby stepped in, looking around before her eyes landed on her children. She smiled softly.  
"I know I'm a little early, but, I was nearby anyway." She explained. Bonnie walked over to her and gently handed her the diaper bag, but still held Maddox in her arms.

"You should stay for breakfast, if you can. He hasn't eaten yet, but, I have everything packed." Bonnie told her. And Maddox was lying his head on her shoulder, his eyes looking lovingly at his mother.

Abby chuckled softly, and gave her an apologetic look, "Maybe next time, Bonnie. I will make sure he gets something to eat though..." she told her, and reached over to take Maddox in her arms, "Come on sweetie, let's go see daddy."

Maddox smiled at her, hearing the word daddy and bounced happily in her arms. "Daddy!" He said and reached towards the door even though no one was standing there.

"See you soon, mom." Bonnie said, and gave her a little wave. She felt and odd flutter of sadness in her chest as watched her mother leave with Maddox. The truth was, she wanted both of them to stay for a little while longer...but, their bonding was going to take a little more time. Easy days, and hard days it seemed.

Once the door was closed, Bonnie stepped over to lock it and then turned around, heading for the kitchen. She half expected Damon to be in there, but, she knew he wasn't home. If he was, they'd have said good morning already... Maybe her odd emotions that morning had to do with not knowing what Damon was doing, and not getting to see him when she woke up. His side of the bed had been empty, and his favorite wingtips missing from by the closet door. However, who was in the kitchen, was 'Stefan'. He was standing at the stove flipping pancakes.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Damon went?" She asked him, leaning against the counter in the gray and pink cotton pajama shirt she was wearing that reached almost her knees.

"Not a clue." Alistair replied, sliding another pancake on the stack of pancakes that was piling up on a plate.  
His eyes shifted over to Bonnie as he turned the burner on the stove off, and set the spatula down. "Want pancakes?" He asked her.

Bonnie exhaled, her lips vibrating. "Sure... They smell great." She smiled softly. Inside, she wanted to go call Damon again to see where he was, but, she was sure he was at the meeting with Mr. Geoffrey. So, she stayed in the kitchen, and grabbed a plate from a cabinet, while Alistair grabbed silverware, butter, and syrup.

She leaned against the counter still while she was worrying, her eyes on the floor. When she looked back up, suddenly Alistair was unusually close to her, looking down at her with his green eyes into hers. One of his hands had just finished putting pancakes on both their plates.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, and she blinked, a little surprised by how close he was. His chest was inches from hers.

Bonnie cleared her throat, "Uh, just wondering what Damon is up to is all." She told him, and his eyes flickered for his head to his feet and back up. Alistair smiled at her, and shrugged before stepping to the side, and putting butter on his pancakes.

 _Okay..._ Bonnie thought to herself, and then turned around to put butter on her own. Suddenly she felt Alistair step behind her, and his chest brushed against her back and shoulders as he leaned to get the syrup. He was very close to her at his point, and when he had the syrup he didn't move. Bonnie's face flushed with how uncomfortable she was.  
More than that, she was confused, and wondered if Stefan was purposely moving so close to her. No, he wouldn't do that...

"What are you doing Stefan?" She asked, turning around quickly, and inhaling when she was suddenly pressed against Alistair. Her cheeks got warmer, and she put her hands on his shoulders, planning to push him back gently. However, she suddenly remembered the tattoo she thought she saw the night before. Without thinking she grabbed the collar of his shirt to the side, this time surprising him as she revealed his shoulder.

When she saw nothing there, she blinked as if to make sure she was seeing the right thing. However, she got the odd idea to rub her thumb over the area which was slightly damp from the condensation on the butter tub. She smeared the make up that was there and could see the tint of a tattoo there.

Alistair stepped back quickly, and chuckled as though he hadn't meant to do anything.  
"Why do you have that tattoo covered up, have you always had it?" Bonnie asked him,and watched him rub at his shoulder a little.

"I...yes, I don't like it so I cover it up." Alistair lied, and gave her an especially trope like Stefan smile that read friendly, and innocence.

Bonnie exhaled with a chuckle, feeling a little better now that she knew she wasn't crazy, and he wasn't so close to her. "Well, why don't you just get it removed? You have the money." She inquired, and 'Stefan' pursed his lips.

"It's actually in the process, take a while."he told her, and Bonnie made a 'hmm' sound.

Bonnie turned back around to pour syrup on her pancakes, then turned to look at Alistair again. "What's with..the, getting close to me?" She asked, though she was positive it was just a misunderstanding. She didn't want to have to deal with anything weird going on with Stefan.

Alistair raised his eyebrows, and put on a genuinely surprised face. "Oh, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention I assure you. I was just grabbing stuff." He told her, and Bonnie believe him. Though, she still felt like something weird was going on with him. As much as she wanted to believe his covering up a tattoo, and being oddly close to her were just normal coincidences part of her didn't.

After breakfast, Bonnie hurried up stairs to get dressed for the day. Whilst she was doing her hair she texted Caroline.

 **Bonnie:** Damon and Stefan are both...being, weird the last day or so.

She set picked her comb back up and continued doing her hair, combing a coconut styling product from her ends to her roots as she tried to focus on anything but the brothers odd actions the last day. She knew Caroline was at Whitmore, as it was a Thursday, but also knew she always texted her back as quickly as possible. She wished the two of them could go out together that day, but, she didn't want Caroline to miss anymore classes and rehearsal. Part of her wished she was still there with her, but, then she remembered how miserable she was. The main thing she missed was being with Caroline every day. Her phone vibrated on the bathroom counter.

 **Caroline:** Weird how?

 **Bonnie:** I don't know, just weird. Can you call me later?

 **Caroline:** Always hun.

Bonnie chuckled softly, and finished doing her hair before she put her styling tools and products away and headed back down stairs. She was clad in a pair of soft light wash skinny jeans, deep red v-neck sweater that clung nicely to her body. Her phone vibrated again in her hand as she reached the bottom of the stairs. When she looked at it, and saw it was Damon, her eyes instantly lit up.

 **Damon:** Goodmorning, would you like to go out for lunch when I get home. Just us?

 **Bonnie:** I'd love that, I can just meet you. How about Blue Bird Diner?

 **Damon:** Sounds great, I'll see you there sweetheart.

She smiled, instantly feeling much better about whatever might be going on. Damon was sure to explain why and where he can gone in the morning, and she could talk to him about Stefan. In her mind, everything was going to be wrapped up by the end of the day, and that took a weight off her shoulders. She peaked into the living room to see Alistair on his laptop doing coursework it seemed, and then made her own way into the library to finish up the book she had been reading the night before.

As she sat in one of the comfortable chairs, turning pages every few long moments, her green eyes shifted over to where she knew the entrance to the secret room was. Giuseppe's secret room. She wondered if Damon had actually gotten it taken care of like he said. With a long pause, she closed her book, slowly closed the double doors to the library, and walked over to the four foot section of bookcase she knew was the secret entrance. Using all her strength she pulled it open, and revealed the passageway. A flood of memories came back to her as she flipped on the flashlight of her phone.

She remembered exactly where the light switches were, and pushed them all on at once. The small hallway didn't feel as frightening as it did the first time, and when she got to the door that had been locked the first time, it wasn't.  
Opening the door, she expected to see guns, and crazy journals around. Instead, she saw none of that. The room had been painted a calm eggshell white color, with tan carpet now covering the previously bare cold blood. There were two twin beds against the furthest wall, a fridge, two floor cabinets, a sink, a table with four chairs around it, a small television, radio sitting next to that, a hot plate, microwave, small generator, and trash can. There was also a first aid kit sitting in a corner of the room on top of a locked chest, which is where Bonnie assumed all the weapons were. She raised her brow. "He turned it into a panic room..." She mumbled, a little surprised but it made sense when she thought about it. There was another door to the right off the room. She walked over and opened it to see a full on bathroom, toilet, sink, and shower.

Honestly, she was unsure when Damon would've had time to do all this, but, remembered that he likely paid someone else to do it. He had told her was going to get it taken care of... She smiled softly, feeling good that now instead of a creepy secret serial killer room they had a panic room for natural disasters, and wars. Granted, she hoped nothing like that ever happened.

She left the room, and headed back down the passage way to the library. Turning off the lights, and closing the bookcase door. With her curiosity sated, she returned to the chair, and her book.

* * *

Finally it was time with her lunch with Damon. She assumed Damon would be wearing a suit to their lunch, even if it was just at a diner. Since, he was coming from meeting. Alas, Bonnie dressed in a beautiful light blue tea length dress, with half sleeves, and a white winter jacket, and black booties. Alistair was no where to be found by the time she was out of the door, and driving in her car to the diner Damon had suggested they meet for lunch at. However, the questions that had been swirling around in her head were very much still there. She had full plans to ask Damon about the meeting, and why she'd never heard about it before.

In all honesty, she was reeling a bit from her interaction with 'Stefan' that morning. Another thing she planned on mentioning to her husband... When she pulled into an empty spot in front of the small town diner, she could see Damon's car sitting in a spot two away from hers. Her lips pulled up into a smile. As concerned, and curious as she was, Bonnie's heart always fluttered in her chest at seeing Damon, and being near him.

Making her way out of the car, and across the snowy sidewalk, she opened the diner door with a ring of the bell.  
Damon who was sitting at a booth a ways back, met her green eyes from across the room, and waved at her. Bonnie started over, telling the waitress she was with Damon, and sat down across from him. This...felt a bit odd, but, she had known to get used to sometimes having days where they could only meet for meals – though that had been when he was working with his company. As far as she knew, Zach was in charge of Salvatore Ballet for the time being. So, needless to say, she was confused.

"Hi, baby," Damon smiled at her, and reached across the table to hold her hand, "You look beautiful." His eyes scanned her from her face to her waist, before her body was blocked by the tabletop. His lips turned up at the corners, but his eyes looked fairly tired, and...nervous?

"Thank you... I missed you this morning." Bonnie told him, and was about to question him, promptly, when the waitress came over and asked what Bonnie would like to drink. Damon already had coffee and water sitting in front of him.

Bonnie ordered coffee as well, and then they both ordered their lunch, both ordering chicken burgers, one fries, one onion rings. Which, Damon knew automatically Bonnie would end up eating some of his onion rings, even if she said she didn't want any.

"So, Stefan is acting weird," she said slowly, and Damon raised a brow, so she continued, "He was being...I don't know, too close to me this morning. He moved behind me, I turned around, he was up against me."

Damon's eyes flashed with confusion, and possessiveness for a moment, even though he knew Stefan was his brother, he'd never do anything such as flirt with his sister in law... So he swallowed the gulp of coffee in his mouth, and tried to think of rational explanations, and calm himself before he said anything he'd regret.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to do anything to make you uncomfortable, Bon," Damon said softly, and Bonnie sighed, nodding just a little, because she wanted to believe this too, "Everyone is acting weird, with everything going on."

Bonnie looked to the side before speaking, "Well, that is true... I just really didn't like it."

"I'll talk to him. I don't want you being uncomfortable." He assured her. The truth was, he was bothered by the thought as well, even if he wasn't there, so he wasn't entirely able to picture what had happened the way it happened. Regardless, the way Bonnie described it, it didn't sound like it was a good thing to be happening, and it made his wife uncomfortable, so even if Stefan was not meaning to do anything wrong, it needed to be mentioned.

She smiled at Damon, feeling a little better about half of her concerns, with only another half to be bothered by. She caressed Damon's hand with her thumb, and bit at her bottom lip a little as she looked down at it... Bonnie missed being naked with him, close to him, and while she knew it was going to take a hot minute before he was happy, and motivated enough to do such things, she couldn't help but crave more of his touch. As Damon's sky blue eyes flickered down to Bonnie's hand with his, and he smiled affectionately at her. A moment alter, their food was brought to them, and they were both very hungry, seen by how quickly they started eating. Bonnie's fries were a bit hot, and she nearly burned her mouth.

"Ouch!" She chuckled, and Damon covered his mouth with his hand so he didn't laugh with his mouth full, and gave her a furrowed brow look before giving her a drink of his ice water.

Bonnie smiled, and swallowed the water, and was more careful after that. However, after about ten minutes of eating, the pace slowing a bit, she bit at her bottom lip, wanting to ask him about the meeting...

Damon on the other hand, had different plans for conversation. "I'm...I..I enrolled back into med school." He told her rather abruptly after swallowing a bite of his food. This reveal certainly made her green eyes widened and her thoughts roll to a completely different topic.

"Oh! Really?" She asked, looking quite a bit excited, and reached her hand over to touch his wrist.

"Yes, I'm going to be doing a lot of school work and everything for the next month or so, but, after that...Mystic Falls General has already offered me a spot on their EMT crew once I graduate." Damon explained. His blue eyes were excited as well, and Bonnie couldn't even describe in words how happy she was that he was clearly doing better, and wanting to further his life.

"I'm so proud of you honey. I know the last few weeks have been difficult, but, I'm so happy you're following your dream... What are you going to do about the ballet company, are you going to co-run that still with Zach?" Bonnie inquired.

Damon bit at his bottom lip. "I'm not entirely sure, I want to, I will definitely be overseeing, I will never give Zach full ownership, but, I don't think I'll have much time to be as involved. I did actually...and don't be mad at me, I talked to Stefan first, and he says he might be interested in taking Zach's place or working beside him, so I can oversee, but he'll be especially taking over for me in every other way."

"Huh," she replied, and pursed her lips, "I thought Stefan was never really interested in being part of the company."

"I thought that too, but, lately he's really motivated. He'd doing great in school, and I could even see him designing several new buildings." Damon told her, raising hiw brows, showing his own surprise with his brothers change in demeanor.

Bonnie nodded a little, and took a drink of her coffee, getting to the bottom of her mug. "Well, I'm so proud of you, and I'm sure it would be nice to keep the money in the immediate family, with someone you trust," she suddenly remembered her previous question, "Is this all what you met the man for this morning?"

"Ahh, not exactly, but that's not important." Damon said, and seemed to quickly brush that subject away.

Bonnie blinked, confused, and thrown off by his reply, but before she could say anything else, the smell of her food wafted up to her, and she decided to finish it. She could ask him more questions when they got home later, and besides, she didn't want him to feel like she was getting off the subject of his new career path. She was very excited about it... Soon lunch was over, and Damon surprised her again, by asking her to take a walk with him around down town where they were. The vintage buildings, the antique shops, candy shops, and furniture stores gave off a vibe she really enjoyed, and Damon seemed to appreciate it too.

"You know, we should spend a day here sometime, check out the stores," Bonnie suggested. Damon looked down at her and smiled.

"I'd love that. You know what, I have a feeling we're going to be here quite often." He told her, to which she raised a brow at him.

Bonnie chuckled lightly, "Oh really? Do you like antiques that much?"

"Actually, yes." Damon smirked at her, but she could see in his eyes there was something he wasn't telling her, but she wasn't sure if it was a good thing, or bad thing, by the smile on his face, and he didn't seem like he was hiding something horrifying. However, she was growing more and more curious.

After they had walked for about ten minutes, Damon turned a bit. "Oh, hey." He said slowly, and Bonnie stopped walking, having accidently let go of his hand, and she turned to see what he was looking at.

"Oh, my mothers studio," Bonnie blinked, "I haven't been here since..." Her memories flashed back to the time she'd yelled at her mother in the police parking lot, and came there to cry. She realized after a moment of looking at the door, that it was cleaner, though fogged up from the cold, and the silver of the doors was polished.

Damon reached a hand forward, "Would you look at that, it's unlocked." He said casually, and grabbed Bonnie's hand, while opening the door.

Bonnie's heart sped up in her chest though she still had no idea what was happening. "W-What are you doing, Damon!" She laughed, gasping softly as she was pulled into the doorway, and Damon drug her impatiently through the second set of doors.

Bonnie was still giggling, until her eyes ejected to the slightly brighter light inside the studio. And suddenly, she realized the hardwood floors were a lighter color, polished, and the mirrors sparkled like new.

"Surprise!" A loud chorus of voices cheered, and she jumped two feet into the air. Damon caught her before she could fall backwards, and suddenly in front of her was a small group containing of, Caroline, Alistair, Abby, Maddox, and Mikael, all holding balloons.

Bonnie's hands went up to her mouth, even though she hadn't exactly figured out what was going on, but her emotions seemed to because tears were welling up in her eyes. "W-What's happening?" she inhaled sharply as she put a hand on her chest, her hands shaky, her knees getting a bit weak.

"It's for you!" Caroline squealed, bouncing happily on her feet.

"I bought off your fathers share of it, Abby gave her half entirely to you," Damon explained as he held his hands on her hips, her back against his chest.

"He had it fixed up for you and everything." A voice came from behind them, followed by a bell, and it was Kai. "My team and I, did it. I'm sorry I'm..late" He chuckled weakly, and Bonnie's eyes went wide with surprise. He was holding a bundle of red and pink balloons in his left hand, and was still wearing his construction gear.

"Woo!" Caroline screamed, and everyone laughed, Bonnie laughing as tears started dripping down her face.


End file.
